Better Health - June 2023

Better Health

PROFILE: Rising DJ star has her roots in Springfield, D9

MUSIC: Many big acts are on tour this summer, D9

THEATER: Tony Awards recap, D9

One Man’s Mission to Make Running Everyone’s Sport

On a recent Sundaymorning jog through Prospect Park, Martinus Evans was received like a conquering champion.

By Danielle F riedman

The New York Times

Every few minutes, a passing runner would smile and nod, congratulating him as they sped by.

But the runners weren’t applauding him for winning any races. You might even say they were celebrating him for his track record of finishing last. Evans is the founder of Slow AF Run Club, a virtual community for back-of-the-packers with more than 10,000 members worldwide. At 300 pounds, he is a beloved figure among runners who have felt left out of the sport. He has graced the cover of Runner’s World, posed nude for Men’s Health and appeared in an Adidas ad. His Instagram account, @300poundsandrunning, has about 62,000 followers. And this month, he’s releasing his first book, “Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run.”

The idea for the club was born at about mile 16 of the 2018 New York City Marathon, just after the grueling Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. Evans was cruising along when he noticed a man gesturing from the sidelines. He took out his AirPods.

“You’re slow, buddy,” the man shouted, adding an expletive to indicate just how slow. “Go home.” Evans tried to ignore him, and turned his attention back to the course, which he eventually finished in just over eight hours, or six hours behind the winner. But as the bystander repeated his taunt, Evans got angrier — then inspired. The next time Evans, now

36, raced, he wore a shirt emblazoned with the man’s phrase “SLOW AF” and a cartoon of a smiling turtle. When he shared photos of his new racing uniform on Instagram, followers asked for shirts of their own. By early 2019, a running club was born. Evans, who lives in Brooklyn and is now a certified running coach, is helping lead a global movement to make the sport feel safe and welcoming for anyone who wants to run, whatever their size, pace, fitness level or skin color. He said his driving message is simple. “I want everyone to know that they can run in the body they have right now.”

‘Mr. Evans, you’re fat’

Growing up on the east side of Detroit, the son of two auto-factory workers, Evans, who is Black, didn’t know anyone who ran for fun. Most people he knew thought of recreational running as a white person’s activity.

As a boy, he was mocked for his size — he was known in the neighborhood as “Marty the fat kid,” he said. When he tried out for a youth football team, the coach made him wear a garbage bag on the field to “sweat out the fat,” he said. He didn’t lose weight; he just felt ashamed.

But after making his high school’s football team, he began to develop confidence in his physical abilities. He attended Lane College in Tennessee on a football scholarship, before transferring to Central Michigan University, where he majored in exercise science. “I was like, maybe I’ll finally learn how to work out and lose this weight,” he said. “And then I can finally be accepted.”

In 2012, Evans and his then-girlfriend (now wife) moved to Connecticut, where she had gotten into graduate school. He took a job selling

suits at Men’s Wearhouse while he figured out his next move. The job, which required him to dress men of all ages and body types, would provide an unlikely path to becoming a fitness influencer. After months on the storeroom floor wearing stiff dress shoes, he began to feel an ache in his hip. The pain brought him to an orthopedic surgeon, who, he writes in his

gry and still in pain (another physician later diagnosed him with hip bursitis) and drove directly to a running store to buy a pair of trainers, determined to prove the doctor wrong. For extra motivation, Evans started a blog he called 300 Pounds and Running, where he began to chart both his running progress and weight loss. After a few months, he was surprised to

Eventually he ran a 5K, then a half-marathon. Finally, in the fall of 2013, Evans flew home to run the Detroit Free Press Marathon and deliver on his vow in the doctor’s office. When he crossed the finish line, he wept.

He has since gotten a master’s degree in public health research and another in digital media and design.

He said running offers him a sense of self-determination, confidence and purpose. And although it initially helped him lose about 90 pounds, dropping him below 300 for a time, he realized that running to lose weight took away from that satisfaction. “I wasn’t 90 pounds happier,” he said. He decided to stop counting calories and run just for fun.

He remembered that what made him a successful salesperson at Men’s Wearhouse was the ability to help customers feel good just as they were. He suspected other runners could benefit from focusing on the joy of the sport over weight loss. On his blog, he leaned into his persona as a 300-pound runner.

‘Delusional self-belief’

Evans advises that, before even slipping on shoes, they should focus on retraining their brains to adopt the mindset that they can run, despite what a thin-obsessed, speed-focused culture might say. In his book, he encourages them to neutralize their inner critic by naming it — his is called Otis, which he imagines like an “ignorant, drunk uncle.” Finally, he tells runners to move forward however they can, even if it requires what he calls “delusional self-belief.”

On a practical level, he recommends that people run 70% to 80% of the time at what he calls “sexy pace” — “the pace you’d go if you were running in slow motion on a beach,” Baywatch style — or what most other coaches call a conversational speed. Starting out, he suggests running for 15 seconds and then walking for 90 seconds. Then, over 12 weeks or so, progress to five minutes of running and one minute of walking.

book, took one look at him and told him: “Mr. Evans, you’re fat. You have two options: Lose weight or die.”

Evans remembered holding back tears while, “with a half-cocked smile,” defiantly telling the doctor, “I’m going to run a marathon.” He said the doctor laughed and told him running a marathon would also kill him. He left the appointment an-

discover strangers were reading and cheering him on.

He found that he enjoyed running, despite the passersby who would occasionally hurl insults at him. More than once, Evans said he has also been stopped and questioned by police while jogging. When he felt defeated, he’d glance at a tattoo on his right wrist that reads “No struggle, no progress.”

Historically, the spor t of running has made many people in big bodies feel like they have to lose weight to belong — to be considered real runners, said Samantha White, an assistant professor of sport studies at Manhattanville College. By “amplifying runners who aren’t focused on time, but rather on community,” she said, Evans is creating a space “where recreational runners, especially Black recreational runners, can find a place.”

As such, the first rule of Slow AF Run Club, which exists primarily on an app by the same name, is that members can’t talk about their weight or weight loss.

When counseling runners,

“Starting gradual is great,” said Anne Brady, a professor of kinesiology at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. “It’s all about consistency. So, you have to start at something that you’re able to sustain in a short bout.” She also advised that larger people carefully select supportive, comfortable footwear to reduce impact on their joints.

More than a decade after he took up running, with eight marathons to his name, Evans is still 300 pounds. He’s healthy by all of the usual metrics, although he doesn’t measure his well-being — or success as a runner — in numbers. He runs simply to be able to continue running, for himself and for others. The longer he shows up and runs slow AF, he said, the easier it becomes for other runners to do the same.

Above: Martinus Evans, founder of the Slow AF Run Club, a virtual community with more than 10,000 members worldwide, at Domino Park in Brooklyn, May 31, 2023. Evans, who has graced the cover of Runner’s World, posed nude for Men’s Health and appeared in an Adidas ad, is releasing his first book, “Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run.”

Above: Martinus Evans, founder of the Slow AF Run Club.

COURTESY OF DESIREE RIOS / THE NEW YORK TIMES)

What to know about charred foods

Men’s mental health

Awareness of the importance of recognizing mental health issues has grown considerably in recent years. Prominent individuals from various industries have come forward to speak about their struggles, and that has done much to remove the stigma that was long associated with mental health.

Though recognition of the importance of addressing mental health issues has increased in recent years, there’s still much to be done, particularly regarding men and mental health. A 2019 study published in the American Journal of Men’s Health noted that men have historically been more hesitant than women to seek help for mental health difficulties. That hesitancy can have grave consequences, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that men are more likely to die by suicide than women.

Recognition of the symptoms that suggest someone is experiencing mental health troubles could compel men to seek treatment or lead to their family members encouraging them to get help. The NIMH notes that men and women can experience the same mental health condi-

tions, such as depression and anxiety. However, that does not mean their experiences will be the same. In fact, experiences can differ widely among men as well. A 2017 study published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology found that men who exhibit stereotypically masculine personality traits often have worse mental health outcomes than men who do not exhibit such traits.

Despite the differences in responses to mental health issues, it’s still important for individuals to learn the symptoms of mental health issues. Such recognition may compel individuals to seek help for their own issues or serve as warning signs to concerned friends and family members, potentially prompting them to initiate discussions that can save a loved one’s life.

According to the NIMH, the following are some symptoms of mental health problems.

• Anger, irritability, or aggressiveness

• Noticeable changes in mood, energy level, or appetite

• Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much

• Difficulty concentrating,

feeling restless, or on edge

• Increased worry or feeling stressed

• Misuse of alcohol and/ or drugs

• Sadness or hopelessness

• Suicidal thoughts

• Feeling flat or having trouble feeling positive emotions

• Engaging in high-risk activities

• Aches, headaches, and/ or digestive problems without a clear cause

• Obsessive thinking or compulsive behavior

• Thoughts or behaviors that interfere with work, family, or social life

• Unusual thinking or behaviors that concern other people

The NIMH urges individuals in crisis or people who suspect someone is in crisis to call 911 or to call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. More information about mental health can be found at nimh.nih.gov.

grilled foods.

Grilling is a staple of summertime, and over the course of a typical summer the average individual may attend a number of backyard barbecues where the main entrees are staples like grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Though grillmasters set out to create the perfect grilled foods, nearly everyone who has manned a grill at one point or another has allowed some food to char. Charred foods may appeal to some and not look too appetizing to others. The appearance of

charred foods is perhaps one reason why so many people assume they’re unhealthy. Such assumptions are not necessarily false nor are they entirely accurate, which is why anyone can benefit from gaining a greater understanding of charred foods.

What constitutes a charred food?

Though there’s no criteria to define if a food is charred or not, the term “charred foods” typically refers to foods cooked on a grill or over an open flame that are extra crispy and might have turned dark black during cooking. Vegetables, meat and hot dogs can char somewhat easily on a grill if temperatures are not controlled or if cooks don’t keep a close eye on their grills.

Why Wait?

What causes charring?

Charring occurs when foods are exposed to heat for long periods of time. According to Science X, an online network that covers science, technology and medical news, when foods are exposed to heat for a long time on a grill, non-carbon atoms in the food break down, and the result is that distinct black appearance and crispy flavor that people identify with charred foods. Does consuming charred foods increase cancer risk?

Many people are familiar with the notion that consuming charred foods can increase cancer risk. That notion is not entirely accurate, but it’s not something that’s been made up, either.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology notes that charred foods have been linked to cancer in animal studies. That link is due to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which are two chemicals that develop naturally when cooking meat. The fat and juice that drips into a grill’s drip pat when cooking meats produces smoke and flames that contain PAHs that ultimately coat the meat as it cooks. HCAs are naturally produced when cooking meat at high temperatures. The ASCO notes that animal studies have found that rodents fed diets with high doses of PAHs and HCAs developed various types of cancer, including breast cancer and colon cancer, among others.

Though studies have found a link between charred foods and cancer risk in animals, the ASCO reports that studies in humans have found no such connection. However, the ASCO warns that this research is ongoing and that any potential link between charred foods and cancer risk could be determined by how individuals’ bodies metabolize PAHs and HCAs.

So there may be no right answer to the question asking if there’s a link between charred food consumption and cancer risk in humans.

Charred foods have a unique flavor that some people love and others loathe. Though there’s not yet definitive evidence to suggest charred foods cause cancer, individuals are still urged to exercise caution and avoid overconsumption of foods with a crispy, charred