Mat Sci Athleticism

NOT speaking of IM sports, the arrival of the GSA 5K sparks up an interesting subject - Mat Sci Athleticism.

A great thinker once said, "In undergrad, you reach your physical peak, but in grad school, you reach your athletic peak." -M. J. Palmeri., PhD Candidate (I think he was the one who said this, correct?)

Who has also heard undergrads complain that grad students should not be allowed to play in the same IM leagues as them because we are older and therefore more experienced and better? To which we have replied, No, we are so old and slow. If anything, we have a disadvantage.

Well, I am here to tell you that I do not disagree with any of the aforementioned statements. However, I do think we have our range of grad student athleticism. At one end, I am utterly amazed at the number of people who are rather athletic, despite the nerdy science/engineer stereotype. I am even more impressed by the runners. Why is it so common for people in our department to run 10K's, half marathons, and marathons? Why are/were there so many people in Tri-Club? Who enjoys torturing themselves this much?! OUR DEPARTMENT. A large chunk of people are very fit and actually look forward to working out. Why are you guys so crazy?! Why are you guys so good at running?

Sorry, but I do NOT like running and do not have "Run a marathon" on my Bucket List. I certainly do NOT want to do this 5K and I'm waiting for someone to invite me to do something else Saturday morning, like go eat brunch at Le Peep. That's how much I dislike it. Is anyone else with me on this? Anyone want to be on the other end of the spectrum with me?

Going back to the athleticism thing, I feel this desire to be athletic is not just a part of wanting to be physically fit and healthy. I think this whole obsession is related to the mind of grad students. We like tackling very difficult things that the bulk of society doesn't want to. We strive to be competent in many things and a variety of things, and we want to be that Renaissance person that society respects and looks up to. Or maybe I'm way over thinking this and we're just trying to live "normal" lives. We're just going crazy in the lab and need something to distract us. Whatever the case may be, for all of this working out, training, practicing, sports talk, Can we please win an IM championship? Or at least, can someone please win the 5K? (Still waiting for Glamm-orous's leg to heal so he can win it again like he did his first year.)

P.S. - Don't forget to register for the 5K www.surveymonkey.com/s/9JNBLQT and also donate to the Cradle Foundation! www.cradlefoundation.org/gsa