Sherman Shares - May 2011
Interview: Evan Fiedler, D.C. '95
Author of Come Run with Me
In the book Come Run with Me, Dr. Evan S. Fiedler combines his knowledge of running with a strong educational background to provide an interactive experience for runners of all levels.
Fiedler is a 1995 graduate of Sherman who earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in education from Grand Canyon University. He granted Sherman an interview about his book.
Why did this book need to be written?
As I was coming back to running marathons after taking a little time off, I started documenting day to day what I was doing to run decently again. I had no thoughts at this time of writing a book.
During the process, ideas about being more efficient and consistent flowed rather easily, so I just continued writing everything down. At the end of the process (80 days later), I assembled the journals into a book. Watching my friends reach and exceed their goals when running with me was a big motivation. They had no idea I was documenting the race preparation and writing a book until I gave them completed copies one day as a gift.
How does chiropractic help runners?
Ironically, Paul Graziano (who wrote the foreward for Come Run with Me after smashing his personal best record) goes routinely once a week for chiropractic care. I had no idea he had ever been to a chiropractor until after the book was published. I found out when reading one of his journal entries while we were working together on our latest project that will come out this summer/fall titled Running to Notre Dame.
In the truest sense, chiropractic adjustments assist with keeping open lines of communication between the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system that has motor pathways stimulating muscular contractions and sensory cells relaying messages back to the brain. With chiropractic, the body functions better as a unit, free of nerve interference from subluxations of vertebrate.
Chiropractic adjustments also lead to improved posture which allows the body to be more efficient (as far as energy exertion) when running. You can actually feel this difference if you "toy" with your posture while out on the trails or looking in a mirror while on a treadmill. This latter technique (the treadmill exercise) really provides a cue as to how a balanced posture allows for seemingly effortless running.
Runner - Chiropractor - Teacher
In addition to practicing chiropractic for 12 years,
Fiedler has been teaching high school and college classes in biology, chemistry,
earth science, anatomy & physiology,
and ecology. He is a master teacher with the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology
Scholars, as well as an instructor at Averett University and College of the Albemarle.
How do you balance practicing and teaching?
For about two years, I was practicing chiropractic in the evening after teaching high school full time during the day. After 12 years in practice, and having additional teaching opportunities at the collegiate level, I decided to devote 100% of my time to education. I am still a strong advocate for proactive healthcare.
What are the most important things that teens need to know about building their health?
This is an extremely difficult question! As a full-time high school teacher, I have seen teenagers' study habits parallel their regard for personal health. For example, if students are doing drugs, sexually active, and/or consuming excessive sugars/fats, they often have little concern for their performance in school. On the contrary, athletes and others who are more conscious of their physical well being tend to put more effort into their coursework.
Personally I believe teenagers would have an easier go of it if they are aware of choices they can make to support a healthy lifestyle. Telling a teenager to "do this or do that" will likely be unsuccessful; however, presenting them with options that clearly relate choice and consequence (such as a picture of a chronic smoker and their tarred lungs), and allowing them to make their own informed decisions tends to be a more successful tactic (at least in my limited observations).
What are your plans for the future?
Staying active on the trails and in the classroom, I hope that someday I will have an opportunity to teach an elective class titled Running 101. The website for the book Come Run with Me (available at Amazon or Barnes & Noble) and random running notes is http://www.wix.com/evanfiedler/running-today.
Sherman
College of Chiropractic
P.O. Box 1452,
Spartanburg, SC 29304
www.sherman.edu -
800-849-8771
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