European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 02, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse Hooked on running by Jurate Kazickas associated pressm y legs ache and i m gasping for Airas the wind and dozens of runners whip past am i doing Here pm Only half Way through the 10-mile race and Bill Rodgers America s no. 1 marathoner already has wont in 48 minutes 57.2 am i doing Here when i humbled across the finish line 38 minutes 28 seconds later i was hooked on running. Despite painful Ulster and a rather pathetic finish 1 knew i would t rest until i entered a Nur stood like 20 million americans i had become dedicated to running As a Way to keep fit and feel Good. I had become what sports psychologists Call a hard Core running addict consumed by the urge to run Ever faster and farther As obsessed with running Asa Junkie in need of a fix. I ran in All kinds of weather. 1 passed up cocktail parties to get in a few Miles before dinner. I ran with the crippling pain of bursitis in my All this from a 35-year-old woman who just a few months before had said that running was was before i watched women running along Side men in the Marine corps Marathon. I was struck by How Strong and healthy and thin they looked. And How Brave they were to push their Bod ies to the limits Over 26 grueling Miles. There was a special camaraderie a gunship that i envied. I wanted to be a part of it. I had to be realistic. A Marathon takes a lot of a writer Sorote Kazickas left colleagues warm of in front of Lincoln memorial. Training. So i made the 10-mile Cherry Blosso classic in Washington d.c., my goal. I had four months to , i bought special running shoes. Figuring that each foot lands on the ground some800 times a mile and multiplying that by body weight my feet would be absorbing the total Impact of about 50 tons each with jolts reverberating up through Ankles Knees and hips. Shoes with Good sup port and cushioning were essential. I spent $33 for a pair of famous name shoes a bad investment As i turned out. James Fixx author of the Best Selling the com plete Booko running advises a leisurely approach to running for beginners. Jogging interspersed with some walking Over Short distances maybe taking several months to work up to two or three mile without stopping. Gradual improvement he writes. Is important to avoid injury. But with a 10-mile race just four months away i started to run As if my life depended onit. That first mile was Tough but the Day i did it i Felta great sense of accomplishment. Within a few weeks i found i was looking Forward to my morning run. It put me into such a state of exhilaration that by the time i got to the office my non running colleagues suspected a breakfast of up one morning i ran four Miles. No matter that it took me 42 minutes. I was euphoric. There was no by Victoria Graham associated Pressa an age when they Are supposed to have everything to live for almost 5,000 teen agers and Young adults each year about 13 a Day Are so dyed in despair that they commit suicide. That s about twice As Many As 10 years ago and three times As Many As 20 years ago. Suicide is the no. 2 cause of death among Young people accidents Are no. 1.there Are More suicides in the 15-24 age group than in any other population phenomenal increase in suicides and attempts Only hinted at by the statistics is frequently blamed on breakdown of the family. Other factors cited Are parents confusion Over their roles drugs and alcohol economic insecurity changing values stress and alienation and the population bulge in the 15-24 age the reasons says or. Calvin Frederick of the National Institute of mental health they add up to a stat of mind that is hapless helpless and hopeless. They Don t believe in the victims Range from to seemingly Happy go Lucky who give no Clear clues to the classic loners who scream silently for help last june 11 in Weymouth. Mass., an apparently Well adjusted 17-year-old shot himself at a graduation cer Emony laying there Are too Many issues in Ameri Ca. It s the american he survived. Last year in Glendale calif., a 11-year-old girl fatally hot herself on the Day of comedian Freddie Prinze s funeral she said in note that his death and the deaths of a Friend a dog and a cat made it impossible they Are but two of the statistics government figures or ism to of show that the number of suicides by 15-to Mearold Rose from 2,357 to 4,747 Over 100 compares to about 2$ percent for the total Popula Tion. Eve. Mum Smicer Eutres aft w to 14 u 7i 7i n n 74bra. W my. Umin it Mart Poge 14 the stars and stripes Jtj hapless help i suicides increased from 118 to 158 during the ins-1916 period. Suicide affects the Young of All races and Sociol eco nomic Levels but More Young men than women take their own lives. The 1976 total for men 1540-24 was 3,788, for women 961. But women attempt suicide at least twice As often frequently with pills while men grab guns. Statistics Don t reflect the full problem because no every suicide is reported As such. Furthermore for every suicide by a Young person there Are Many More at tempts some think As Many As 50. It is a striking phenomenon and tragic because the Haven t had a Chance to Start to live said Frederick chief of emergency mental health and disaster assistance at nigh. Frederick believes that suicidal Young persons often have ineffectual father son Mother daughter relationships and often suffer great pressure by trying to live of to parental expectations. He cites breakdown of the family. Increased use of drugs and alcohol and the difficulty of getting a Job and getting ahead As cards seem stacked against them everything turns out badly they Don t have the resources to lift themselves up and then they lose Hope. That is a suicidal combination Frederick Peck director of youth services at the loan Geles suicide prevention Center studies Young suicide sin a county with a rate of u per 100,000 for 15-to 19-year old males highest in the country. In the 1960s, he says the classic suicidal youth was lonely and isolated whose death brought the statement gee we never really knew now Peck sees a new suicidal group More aggressive delinquent trouble some. Including users of drugs and alcohol Peck it others Bdl eve of to Etta u to Cdr but Suity to Cope is confused could Dewih Yean ago when parents were consistent in teaching values and discipline children knew where they stood. It
