The Checkup: This Jezebel Post About Marathon Spectators Is Perfect

Photo by Flickr user katielann12

• If you missed it yesterday, I must point you to Jezebel’s ode to marathon spectators, published, of course, in the wake of Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon. My favorite part:

It’s the spectators — who yesterday after the blasts, jumped over barricades to run toward the injured, who helped the few remaining volunteers at the event throw tables out of the way to make room for ambulances. It’s the people of Boston who offered their homes to families stranded by the blast — the last I heard, the Google doc of open doors contained 5,000 entries. For strangers. From the people who watch.

The only thing I’d add is this: Race volunteers are pretty freaking awesome, too. I mean, how many people would choose to wake up at the crack of dawn to hand out water to thousands of strangers who are too winded to say thank you? So, yeah, I’d add race volunteers to my list of People Who Are Awesome at Marathons. Anyway, feel a bit better about humanity today and go read this now.

• Looks like someone finally figured out a way to make reading while on the treadmill an easier, less-nausea-inducing activity. The solution? A new technology called ReadingMate, which “adjusts text on a monitor to counteract the bobbing motion of a runner’s head so that the text appears still.” Um, can I have one? More here.

• So I guess not only the good die young—a new study found that eating a Western-style diet shortens your lifespan. (In case you’re wondering, a “Western-style diet” is one that includes a lot of fried and sweet food, processed and red meat, high-fat dairy products and refined grains. Super!) More here.