In 1984, Jim Fixx died of a heart attack while jogging in Vermont.
A 52-year-old man dying of a heart attack typically doesn't make headlines, but Fixx was a well-known advocate for running. He had transformed his health and avoided the same fate as his father. Fixx (1977) wrote, “My father had a heart attack at 35 and lived a life of invalidity until he died eight years later” (p. 226).
The irony of Jim Fixx's death did not go unnoticed in the country.
In the running community, Jim Fixx is recognized as one of the pioneers of the jogging boom of the 1970s. He likely wrote the most famous book on running, The Complete Book of Running (1977). It is hard to imagine today, in light of countless recreational runners, but Fixx's death was met with much “I told you so” from those who believed running was dangerous to our health. For example, Restak (1984) wrote in the Washington Post that Fixx fit the mold of a “compulsive runner” as labeled by a psychiatrist.
This is a runner who starts later in life, runs too many miles, and seeks achievements in running that cannot be found in other areas of life. Restak adds, “Jim Fixx's death may prompt a re-evaluation of the value and wisdom of running 40-80 miles a week” (p. 26).
We now know more about Jim Fixx's death, and running did not kill him; in fact, it likely extended his life.
Fixx describes in his book how he started running after pulling a muscle while playing tennis. He was overweight and a smoker. He wrote, “My body had betrayed me, and I was angry” (p. xvi). After months of running, he lost weight and quit smoking, but was amazed by his mental clarity and anxiety. “I felt a quiet strength, and if I ever felt that strength fading, I could immediately go out and run and call it back” (p. xvii).
The mental benefits of running receive an entire chapter in his book. Pepper…