I got my recent issue of Runner’s World the other day and they had a great article about the Olympic runners.
I hadn’t thought a lot about the fact that the athletes competing in the Olympics this year in Beijing will be facing harsh pollution problems.
I suppose I should have. After all, I live (at least for a bit longer!) in Los Angeles.
Let me correct myself: I am now in Orange County. We were in Los Angeles, just a few short minutes from downtown, when we first moved here.
The city itself was just incredible. Pasadena is this picturesque town at the bottom of the mountains, filled with majestic trees and beautiful Craftsman type homes. In fact, many of the neighborhoods you see on television when you watch commercials and sitcoms come straight from Madison Heights, which was a short jog from my front door.
We lived at the top of the street in a condo that we rented, but we could run just half a mile and be in the middle of tv town. I can’t tell you how many times I saw a commercial or show being shot, and then how many times I saw that scene on the television a few months later! It was quite magical.
The smog, though, was unbearable on most days, particularly in the middle of the summer heat.
Let me tell you, running in smog is not pretty. It burns: your eyes, your lungs, your throat. You can tell the instant you step out of the door if there is smog in the air.
I have always been a morning runner, so for the most part this didn’t affect me much. As long as I was out of the door early, while the morning fog was still settled on the town, I was okay.
But those days I did a later run, it was torture.
I can understand the idea behind the political reasons of hosting the Olympics in China, but I am having a difficult time understanding why this is working on a health basis.
We are basically sending athletes into a country filled with so much smog that they are suggesting those competing out of doors wear masks!
We know this is not good for health reasons. Why do this to these competitors? Is it fair?
What are your thoughts on this? Should the Olympics have been held in Beijing with the air quality problems?
Just curious as to what other people out there are thinking on this issue!
Kathy: My husband and I were just discussing this! Long story short, I do not believe that Beijing should have been awarded the Olympic hosting because of many things, but mainly for the poor conditions for athletes. Air quality and safety should be one of the main attributes for selection. I was so disappointed to see photos of the pollution there and cannot imagine how bad some of the athletes must feel already.
As you know, our air quality in Florida is amazing. I always thought that LA should have great quality becuase of its proximity to the coast but know that it never the case. Why is that? Air quality in AZ and TX when we lived there was pretty bad.
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Hey Chris! Thanks for your post. I totally agree! To me, the health of these top athletes should have been an important factor when determining where to send them. They train so hard, and I know that I would not want to be expected to do physical feats in a place where the pollution is this bad. The pictures killed me too. Ugh. I just hope that since they made this decision and sent the athletes there, they will take the money they are going to make on the Olympics and clean up the air for all of the people who unfortunately live in this condition daily.
I miss the Florida air quality! And the clean blue skies. We didn’t see a ton of that in LA-it was overcast a lot, and then when it would get hot that would be somewhat trapped with the smog. I remember how in Florida the sky was blue morning, noon and night!
Funny, didn’t think AZ and TX would be bad! I always say I want to live in Denver but my husband heard their air quality isn’t the best either. Will have to do some research before our next move :0)
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for kind comment on my blog! And I, too, have been thinking about this pollution issue, even almost posted a podcast about it at EnduranceSportsBar.com, may do so next week. I’m actually originally from CA (S.F. Bay Area) but have lived in the San Diego and Monterey area and know of the smog you’re talking about. And also how different it is in FL, where I am now most of the time, because it’s so flat and rains often so that smog doesn’t get stuck the same way as it might in other places. And last time I visited Denver a couple years ago, I was surprised to see how smoggy it was (tough to see the Rockies!).
I think it’s really terrible that most athletes will feel forced to compete. I know that some have chosen not to because they have some respiratory issues that may be severely aggravated by it. I hope China can do something drastic quickly to lead the way in reducing their smog during the games and that it will also get other smog-ridden cities elsewhere to think about doing the same thing.
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