1 . The last attempt of Ken Campbell to run could date back to high school. When his wife, Susan, injured her foot, she needed support to rejoin her running group, so Campbell went along to keep her company in the recovery. “We were just walking at the beginning,” he says, “I was heavy, and weighed over 90kg.” But as the weeks and months passed, the weight fell away, Susan recovered and Campbell’s abilities grew. At the age of 63, he ran 50 km, and at 70, he completed a 100 km ultramarathon (超长距离马拉松赛跑).

So how does someone with no experience of running become an ultradistance runner in his 60s and 70s? Susan had run marathons (马拉松比赛) before her injury, but for Campbell, the turning point came when Susan’s Fleet Feet running group started training near their home.

Campbell went out to visit Susan’s group, and “the paths were a terrible mess. It had been raining, and I was slipping, sliding and falling. But I thought, well, I like this a lot.” What he liked above all was the feeling of “being wrapped by the path, being hugged by the closeness of the plants and the nearness of the river”.

Running the 100 km ultramarathon took Campbell 16 hours. When Campbell crossed the finish line, Susan handed him a 100 km sticker to display on the back of his truck. “It is a public statement that you are part of this community,” he says. “Wherever we park, I see a line of vehicles with their various stickers and I feel that we are a community.”

Campbell suffered from arthritis before he started running, and was “waiting for knee replacement”, but for now, he no longer needs an operation. It can put an end to the running—but the “sense of wellbeing and achievement will carry me on forever,” he says, “If I can’t run, I will walk.”

2 . The Day Lisa Lost

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about the many professional athletes of today who have developed a me-first attitude. I am talking about high school sports, where lessons of life are still being learned. Here, athletes still compete for the love of the game and their teammates. Lisa Kincaid is one of them.

I first met Lisa on the volleyball court. If anyone had a right to be cocky (自大的) or proud of herself, it was Lisa. Besides being one of the best volleyball players in the USA, she became a track legend (传奇人物) . She went sixty-four national games without losing any event.

However, she felt uncomfortable talking about her achievements and would usually change the conversation to others’ performances. She often lent her shoes to someone who’d forgotten her own, or sincerely sent best wishes to competitors from different teams.

Soon after, Lisa’s impossible failure in one game impressed me a lot. Lisa’s coach told her he needed her to run the mile. She had never done so, but agreed to do what was best for the team. Lisa easily outdistanced the competition, but on the last lap she seemed to grow tired. Jane, Lisa’s teammate, passed her. Lisa managed to stay just behind Jane and followed her across the finish line. Lisa lost an event for the first time in her track career.

Athletes in Lisa’s track program needed to earn a set amount of points to gain a varsity letter (校队标志微章). Lisa knew that Jane needed to finish first to earn a letter for the first time. Without Lisa, Jane would make it. Lisa remembered all this as she lined up for the start of that race. It suddenly struck me why she wore a slight smile on her face after having “lost” for the first time ever. Jane finally received her first varsity letter. And Lisa? On that day, the day she lost, she earned my respect and admiration.

3 . Teenagers have long been told that being active and taking part in various sports is good for their health. But new research suggests that too much sport for teenagers could negatively affect their well-being just as much as too little sport.

Researchers from Switzerland say their study suggests that 14 hours of physical activity a week is best for promoting good health in teenagers. However, they found that more than 14 hours appears to be detrimental to their health. To reach their findings, the researchers surveyed more than 1,245 teenagers aged between 16 and 20 from Switzerland.

All participants were required to answer questions on height and weight, sports practice, sports injuries and well-being. Their well-being was assessed(评估) using the World Health Organization (WHO) Well-Being Index,and the average well-being score for all participants was 17.

The researchers divided sports participation into low (0—3.5 hours a week), average (3.6— 10.5 hours), high (10.6— 17.5 hours), and very high (more than 17.5 hours).The researchers found that participants in the low and very high activity groups were more than twice as likely to have well-being scores below 13, compared with participants in the average group. The researchers found that the highest well-being scores were gotten by participants who carried cut around 14 hours of physical activity a week, but exercising beyond 14 hours resulted in lower well-being scores.

Commenting on their findings, the researchers say physical activity has been connected with positive emotional well-being, reduced sadness, anxiety and stress disorders, and improved self-respect in teenagers.

The researchers suggest that their study stresses the importance for physicians caring for teenagers to check their level of sports practice and ask them about their well-being. Teenagers probably need a supportive and closer follow-up of their health and well-being. The findings can provide information for guideline groups who produce recommendations on sports practice for teenagers.

4 . Most people in their eighties would consider themselves lucky not to have health problems, but this is not the case with Toshisuke Kanazawa. The 82-year-old Japanese bodybuilder is not only in perfect physical condition, but also looks better than a lot of men a quarter his age.

Kanazawa is a living example that you’re never too old to hit the gym and achieve the body you’ve always dreamed of. A champion bodybuilder in his youth, Kanazawa stopped exercising completely after he retired(退休) at age 34, drinking, smoking and eating whatever he liked. It wasn’t until he turned 50 that he wanted to regain the perfect body of his younger years.

Kanazawa’s wife felt sick frequently, and the former bodybuilder remembered that she had never been happier than when he won the national championship. So, to please her, he decided to return to the gym and completely change his diet.

His workout schedule had to change according to his age. In his youth, he would spend up to six hours training in the gym every day, and his body would recover within two days after a particularly intensive workout, but that was not the case anymore. He cut the daily gym time to three hours and started giving his body one week to recover after exercising every muscle group.

Kanazawa’s efforts paid off. In 2016, at the age of 80, Kanazawa defeated many opponents and placed sixth in the world in a match for bodybuilders over 65, and won the admiration of the crowd.

Sport keeps this elderly man healthy, as he has not suffered so much as a cold since he started bodybuilding again at age 50.

“I want to be a super old man in the bodybuilder community,” Kanazawa said, “If I have a goal, I can continue moving forward. I have to work much harder.”

7 . The 2024 Peace Poetry Awards

The awards contest is to encourage people to explore peace and the human spirit. There are three age categories (类型): Adult (19 & over), Youth (13-18), and Youth (12 & under). The yearly contest is open to people worldwide. Your poems must be unpublished, and in English.

Deadline

All entries (参赛作品) must be submitted by June 30, 2024.

Entry Fee

Adults—$20

Youth (13-18)—$10

Youth (12 under) — no fee

Notes

1. You may submit up to three unpublished poems. At most 30 lines per poem.

2. Include name, address, email, telephone number, and age in the upper right-hand corner of each poem. For the Youth (12 & under) category, please also include your school’s name and your teacher’s name.

3. Title each poem.

4. Please keep copies of all entries as we will be unable to return.

5. Email your entries to: www.peacepoetrywards.com and Click here to pay our entry fee online.

Awards

Adult Winner—$800

Youth (13-18) Winner—$500

Youth (12 under) Winner—$200

Winners will be announced by September 30, 2024 on our website. Winners will be notified by land/or mail. Past years’ winning poems can be found here.

8 . 300-Word-Fable Contest 2024

Our domestic annual fable contest is back for its eighth year. As ever, we look forward to reading yours! Listed below are some take-home messages for you!

The Rules:

Please make sure that stories are new, not published before and exactly 300 words long (not including the title). Entries may be used in all print and electronic media. Contributions can become world copyright (版权) of Granta. The judges’ decision is final.

Entry is open only to people living in the UK. It is not open to employees of Granta and all others associated with this contest, their immediate families and relatives living in an employee's household.

Terms and Conditions:

There are three categories-one for adults and two for schools: one for teenagers aged 12-18 and one for children under 12.

In the adults category, the winner will receive £1,000 and two runners-up will each receive £250. In the 12 — 18s and under-12s categories, the winners will each receive a selection of STAEDTLER products worth £150. The two runners-up in both categories will each receive a Kindle E-Reader.

Please submit your fables by 5 pm on February 19.

The editorial team will pick a shortlist of entries, which this year will be published by our partner nicereading. com. Winners of the categories will have an opportunity to write a longer version of their fables for inclusion in the book.

Highlights to keep in mind: the three best fables in each category will be posted on-line at granta.co.uk on February 27. You can vote for your favourite, and the one with the most votes wins the top prize. Voting will close at 5 pm on March 19 and the winning list will be published in our June issue.