What does an extreme endurance runner carry in their grab bag? For many, the essential items include energy gels, blister bandages, extra socks and a GPS watch.
But for Larry Grogin, a 71-year-old chiropractor and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner from the US state of New Jersey, it was a selection of acupuncture needles and Chinese herbs. He would self-administer these nightly during his recent feat: running a marathon every day for 100 days to raise money for Parkinson’s disease.
Grogin is no ordinary extreme distance runner. For the past seven years, he has lived with the disorder, which Michael J. Fox also suffers from.
The incurable neurodegenerative condition affects movement and worsens over time. Key symptoms include hand tremors, extreme slowness of movement known as bradykinesia, muscle stiffness and balance problems. None of these seems compatible with distance running.
“It sucks,” Grogin says. “Most of all I dreaded being pitied, and still do. There are good days. Bad days. Horrible days, great days.”
When it comes to Parkinson’s, ‘movement is medicine’
The 2019 diagnosis was devastating for Grogin, who had about 300 marathons and 30 Ironman triathlons under his belt at the time.