re: People that run during the hottest part of the day

Not fat southerners

I have some perspective here. I have lived in both Louisiana (25 years) and southern Arizona (Yuma, where it's even hotter than Phoenix). Additionally, I'm a distance runner, with an average of about 40 or more miles a week.

I'll say this- short runs of 4-5 miles are easier in south Louisiana than they are in Arizona. The lack of humidity in Yuma (usually 8% or less) coupled with 117 degree heat is brutal to your lungs, skin and head.

However, intermediate to longer runs (8 or more miles) in Louisiana are incredibly difficult because of fluid loss. I returned to Covington last week to visit family and ran the Tammany Trace. I did three runs of about 10 miles each and I felt like I was going to die each time. The cramping was worse than any I've ever had and this was after drinking tons of water the evenings before. It just doesn't matter. You can't lose that much fluid and continue at any competitive pace. I lost almost a full minute off each mile on those runs.

But lsunurse is right about those longer distances in Arizona. While the Louisiana heat will make you quit from dehydration, running in 117+ heat can literally make your heart stop.

On a side note, and not that she needs to be knighted for, but what's with all the nurse hate? She's good people.

the worst are the a-holes who run with their dogs, when it's hot/humid as hell, and have no water bottle on them.