A Life Cut Way Too Short

-
I usually write about running and runners, but a very dear friend emailed me to tell me about a young athlete who lost her life while cycling.

Her name was Carla and apparently she was on her way to becoming one of the best female cyclists in the world. Only last week she was riding in her native South Africa when she turned to retrieve a fallen “cycling computer” and looked over the wrong shoulder to see if it was safe to make a U-turn, momentarily forgetting she wasn't in the U.S., where they drive on the right side of the road. She was struck by a truck and died.

Our friend Rodney has a son who is a competitive cyclist at a small college in North Carolina, and Sam and Carla had grown close. Sam even spent the winter holiday training and touring with her in South Africa. I’m sure her sudden death hit him hard, as it did everyone else who knew her. Rodney told me, "I know she had a temendous impact on Sam, and helped him see that being fiercely competitive and selfless are not mutually exclusive."

What got me in the gut was when Rodney mentioned a fund to help her family, whom Carla had helped support with her winner’s earnings. Her father was starting from scratch after moving the family to the U.S., and her mother suffers from multiple sclerosis, which surely limits a lot of things like employment opportunities. Carla apparently devoted a lot of her time to raising funds and awareness for this disease.

So I write this post to bring attention to Carla’s Circle and to also remind everyone to stay diligent. Even the best of us can make honest-but-costly mistakes. Carla was the same age as my older daughter, and I cannot fathom life without her. My heart goes out to the Swart family and strong circle of friends that continue to surround them.

Popular posts from this blog

I Leave You With This

-
Image
There's this social media post some guy put up on Instagram. I almost scrolled past it, but I'm glad I didn't. It asked what question we should ask ourselves when we die. In retrospect, ChatGPT's response was basically pulling from Eastern philosophy, but, still, I couldn't stop thinking about it in the hours and days since I first heard it. Here's a partial transcript I cribbed using -- what else? -- AI. Some guy set up the prompt, which was long and convoluted. The following picks it up from there.  Some guy : I'm assuming most people would ask, 'Where am I going? What's next?' Something like that. Is that a good question?  ChatGPT : No, because they don't matter. Some guy : W hy don't they matter?  ChatGPT : If there's a heaven or hell or some next phase, you're likely already heading there. Asking won't change your destination. It's a wasted question.  Some guy : That's a good point. Um, what about 'Did I do en...
Read more

What's Your Slavery Footprint?

-
I just came across an app that immediately intrigued me because it brings awareness to something way too often overlooked in this country. It's called The Slavery Footprint , and I found out about it this morning courtesy of this post . Living in California, and traveling regularly through the Central Valley where a bulk of everyone's U.S.-bred fruits and nuts are produced, I became keenly aware of how poorly farmhands are treated in this country. I even blogged about it several years ago . Some of us tend to feel morally superior because of the foods and lifestyle choices we make. After taking this "test," perhaps that piety will recede a bit. After you take it, you can share your score if you wish. Personally, I'm embarrassed by mine.
Read more

Do Mom and Dad Make You Run?

-
I know of a lot of middle-aged running friends who are motivated by their parents to run. Their mother or father was in poor health for many years and it ultimately cost them their lives (or at least a higher quality of it), and so one reason they initially put on a pair of running shoes was to avoid the same fate. However, that's not the sort of parental connection outlined in a provacative post about the link between exercise and genetics in this morning's Daily Beast. It reflects a couple of scientific studies that show we may be genetically encoded to favor workouts. That means some of us will never enjoy exercising like others, nor will our children. If this is true, then those of us modeling good behaviors by eating well and exercising in moderation may merely be passing along the endorphin baton to those with our "exercise gene." And that might also explain why some parents who push their kids into sports end up disappointed that their child never "takes...
Read more