Most everyone remembers Super Size Me, the 2004 documentary in which director/star Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald's food for 30 days and ended up gaining almost 25 pounds. Not exactly the kind of diet a marathoner would choose, right?
Wrong. Joe D'Amico, a Palatine, IL, resident, trained for the recent Los Angeles Marathon by eating only McDonald's food for 30 days leading up to the race. He documented his progress at http://mcrunner.com.
The result? He finished 29th with a personal best of 2:36:13, and also raised $27,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities, which was the ulterior motive for his Mickey D fixation (you can still donate at www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/mcrunner/lamarathon).
Of course, his menu choices diverged somewhat from Spurlock's, who seemed hellbent on ruining his health just to make the obvious point that if you consume 5,000+ calories a day while sitting on your butt, you'll get fat.
D'Amico's choices consisted of hotcakes, an Egg McMuffin and orange juice in the morning, a grilled chicken sandwich for lunch and a burger, fries and cookies for dinner. Nutritionists can grouse about the dearth of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains in that regimen, but it sure beats stuffing your face with Double Quarter Pounders With Cheese, Chicken McNuggets by the bucket and fries by the barrel.
Plus, of course, D'Amico was running regularly to train for the marathon, so he got plenty of exercise, while Spurlock couch potatoed to the point that his liver was in danger of failing.
There's a lesson here somewhere. Wonder what it can be…
