Just Do It...The Fitness-Industrial Complex

Here's the deal: as a runner, I never have nor will I ever wear that corporate sports logo with the swoosh (TM) on my person. Their business practices, including marketing to the urban poor and using sweatshops around the globe, revolt me.

But their marketing has been brilliantly successful: it taps into our idiotic fascination with sports celebrities, our seemingly bottomless narcissism around self-transformation (just do it!), and our relentless passion for appearances. Let me be perfectly clear: You do not need to buy stuff to be a real runner. Your running does not need to expand the GNP.

What is wrong with this picture?: Middle aged yuppie-type walks out front door with siren on coffee cup sleeve, heads to SUV suitably dressed for an expedition to the Andes, and uses fossil fuels to journey to something called a "health club." I have lots of associates who really believe that the wrist curl performed while writing a check to that health club is getting them in shape. And trust me, its the only curl of any type they'll be doing for the next couple of months.

I am convinced that it is preferable to step out your front door, run, and be done. If you need an all-terrain vehicle, special gear, and a "club" to be healthy, something is amiss. I adore that my father-in-law began running decades ago (when it was only for "nuts") in his old basketball hi-tops and some beat up clothes. He could care less about gear. And by the way, all these years later, he's still fit as a (non-logoed) fiddle.

Having said that, I wouldn't encourage you to run without good shoes and a wicking t-shirt. Running in your old cotton t-shirt is cost effective, but uncomfortable. And you will stink. A wicking t-shirt, some basic "breathable" running pants or shorts, and shoes that fit are good tools to have. I use 'em and I like 'em. But I won't wear a swoosh. And my healthy pursuits aren't about to fuel the fitness-industrial complex.