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Why To Exercise Today: Relief From Life's Pain

Life often hurts Exercise can often help. I thought this beautifully done New York Times piece on that running and swimming man, Gary Atlas of Brooklyn, captured perfectly the pain and the remedy. It's titled "Workout for a world of grief:"

“I watched my mother die a slow and torturous death, and it wore me down mentally and physically,” Mr. Atlas, 58, recalled. “The running and swimming became my escape from the pain. She had trouble getting oxygen, so these runs and swims felt like I was breathing for both of us.”

Enid Atlas died in 2009 at age 82, but Mr. Atlas has kept up his routine in her memory. Wednesday was his 1,201st consecutive day.

Each day he runs six miles — always shirtless — up and down the length of the beach, from Brighton to Sea Gate, and then plunges into the ocean and swims out past the jetties.

This program aired on January 10, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

Headshot of Carey Goldberg

Carey Goldberg Editor, CommonHealth
Carey Goldberg is the editor of WBUR's CommonHealth section.

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