I flipped on the tube just before leaving for my big band rehearsal tonite and was shocked to hear that 3 runners had collapsed and died during the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon.

I'm thinking of the families and friends, and how difficult a loss this must be to bear, and I pray for them.

The three men were all running the half marathon, according to the official race results site at Active.com. Almost 7000 people finished the race today. Millions probably finish comparable events every year, so this tragedy is very unusual.

As a two time finisher of the Detroit Free Press Marathon I can attest to the excellent support and organization of the event. It's a world class marathon.

Why do people run, anyway? Well, I'll tell you. It's because running is a primal human activity, something we've been doing thousands of years more than we've been blogging, working nine-to-five, or making tools, for that matter. When you go run, for whatever reason, and whatever you make of it personally, you're getting back to real basics and real life, with all its risks and rewards.

We should take running seriously as I'm sure these men did. Sometimes the stress test of a race reveals physical conditions that can go years undetected otherwise. Perhaps in a wellness-oriented system of health care this could have been avoided. Perhaps not.

That said, I keep thinking of the friends and families of these three men. I'm so very sorry for this terrible loss.

- Jerry