Ernst van Aaken
Encyclopedia
Ernst van Aaken was a German sports physician and athletics trainer.
Van Aaken became known as the "Running Doctor" and the founder of the training method called the Waldnieler Dauerlauf (German "Waldniel endurance run"). He is generally recognized as the founder of the long slow distance
method of endurance training. Van Aaken stated that human beings were able to reach the age of 100, if they would not live so "hopelessly unbiologicly". In the "biologic" life style that he advocated, sports played an important role, especially the development of endurance
. He also held the opinion that the female sex would eventually perform better in endurance events than the male, if all social barriers were dealt with that currently enhinder this.
As a sports physician, trainer and advocate of new developments he directed himself fanatically to distance running and the training
of "pure endurance" ("reine Ausdauer") with high mileage in the training program. He lauded a daily endurance run for everybody, also for women, elders and children, combined with moderate eating and drinking. He was an opponent of the method of interval training
that prevailed until halfway the sixties.
In the early sixties Van Aaken trained amongst others the German athlete Harald Norpoth
, who won silver in the 1964 Olympic Games
in Tokyo on the 5000 meters.
In 1972 Van Aaken got hit by a car during his own training, which cost him both legs. Since this accident he moved in a wheelchair
and became also a champion for disabled sports
and wheelchair racing
.
To propagate his ideas, he wrote a number of books, the most famous titled Programmiert für 100 Lebensjahre ("Programmed for lifespan 100"). He also held countless lectures, also in the United States and Japan, and he organized running races, especially marathons for women, and also ultra running events.
, a 27-year-old middle-distance runner and mother of two also from West Germany
, and Monika Boers, a 19-year-old from the Netherlands
, to participate in a marathon organized by his running club in Waldniel. According to German sports historian Karl Lennartz, journalists skeptical of 13-year-old Maureen Wilton
's recent world best in Toronto, Canada asked van Aaken if women and teenagers were capable of such a performance. Mocked and derided for claiming that faster times were indeed possible, van Aaken chose Pede and Boers to prove himself correct. Although the German Athletic Association (Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband) did not yet officially permit women to run, race officials did allow the two women to start 30 meters behind the men. Pede came in third, her 3:07:26.2 set a new world best, and Boers finished in 3:19:36.3.
Van Aaken became known as the "Running Doctor" and the founder of the training method called the Waldnieler Dauerlauf (German "Waldniel endurance run"). He is generally recognized as the founder of the long slow distance
Long Slow Distance
Long slow distance is a form of aerobic endurance training in running and cycling. Physiological adaptations to LSD training include improved cardiovascular function, improved thermoregulatory function, improved mitochondrial energy production, increased oxidative capacity of skeletal muscle, and...
method of endurance training. Van Aaken stated that human beings were able to reach the age of 100, if they would not live so "hopelessly unbiologicly". In the "biologic" life style that he advocated, sports played an important role, especially the development of endurance
Endurance
Endurance is the ability for a human or animal to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise...
. He also held the opinion that the female sex would eventually perform better in endurance events than the male, if all social barriers were dealt with that currently enhinder this.
As a sports physician, trainer and advocate of new developments he directed himself fanatically to distance running and the training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
of "pure endurance" ("reine Ausdauer") with high mileage in the training program. He lauded a daily endurance run for everybody, also for women, elders and children, combined with moderate eating and drinking. He was an opponent of the method of interval training
Interval training
Interval training is a type of physical training that involves bursts of high-intensity work interspersed with periods of low-intensity work...
that prevailed until halfway the sixties.
In the early sixties Van Aaken trained amongst others the German athlete Harald Norpoth
Harald Norpoth
Harald Norpoth is a West German former middle and long distance runner. Born in Münster, he won the silver medal over 5000m at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as a member of the United Team of Germany. He had already competed in the 1962 European Athletics Championships, where he had fallen and...
, who won silver in the 1964 Olympic Games
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in Tokyo on the 5000 meters.
In 1972 Van Aaken got hit by a car during his own training, which cost him both legs. Since this accident he moved in a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
and became also a champion for disabled sports
Disabled sports
Disabled sports are sports played by persons with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. As many of these based on existing sports modified to meet the needs of persons with a disability, they are sometimes referred to as adapted sports...
and wheelchair racing
Wheelchair racing
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted . Athletes are classified in accordance with the nature and severity of their...
.
To propagate his ideas, he wrote a number of books, the most famous titled Programmiert für 100 Lebensjahre ("Programmed for lifespan 100"). He also held countless lectures, also in the United States and Japan, and he organized running races, especially marathons for women, and also ultra running events.
Proponent of women's running
Ernst van Aaken was an early proponent of women's running. In 1967, van Aaken asked Anni PedeAnni Pede-Erdkamp
Anni Pede-Erdkamp is a former West German long-distance runner who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world best in the marathon on September 16, 1967 with a time of 3:07:27 in Waldniel, West Germany.Pede and Monika Boers were asked by Ernst van...
, a 27-year-old middle-distance runner and mother of two also from West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, and Monika Boers, a 19-year-old from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, to participate in a marathon organized by his running club in Waldniel. According to German sports historian Karl Lennartz, journalists skeptical of 13-year-old Maureen Wilton
Maureen Wilton
Maureen "Moe" Wilton is a former Canadian long-distance runner who is well recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world best in the marathon on May 6, 1967 with a time of 3:15:23 in Toronto, Canada...
's recent world best in Toronto, Canada asked van Aaken if women and teenagers were capable of such a performance. Mocked and derided for claiming that faster times were indeed possible, van Aaken chose Pede and Boers to prove himself correct. Although the German Athletic Association (Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband) did not yet officially permit women to run, race officials did allow the two women to start 30 meters behind the men. Pede came in third, her 3:07:26.2 set a new world best, and Boers finished in 3:19:36.3.
See also
- Kenneth Cooper
- Jim FixxJim FixxJames Fuller Fixx was the author of the 1977 best-selling book, The Complete Book of Running. Best known as Jim Fixx, he is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution, popularizing the sport of running and demonstrating the health benefits of regular jogging.- Life and work :Born in...
- Joe Henderson (runner)Joe Henderson (runner)Joe Henderson is an American runner, running coach, writer, and former chief editor of Runner's World magazine. He currently writes for Marathon & Beyond magazine, and since 1982, a weekly column entitled "Joe Henderson's Running Commentary"...
- Kathrine SwitzerKathrine SwitzerKathrine Switzer is the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entry. She entered and completed the race in 1967, five years before women were officially allowed to compete in it. Her finishing time of approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes was nearly an hour behind the first female...
- Bobbi GibbBobbi GibbRoberta Louise "Bobbi" Gibb is the first woman to have run the entire Boston Marathon . She is recognized by the Boston Athletic Association as the pre-sanctioned era women’s winner in 1966, 1967, and 1968...
- Gender issues
- Biology of genderSexual dimorphismSexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...