"I can't breathe!" "Am I getting a medal?" Well done, American society, well done parents. Edit: I realize this is a snarky comment but this was my initial reading of the article. Sure she is brave. I guess? This just seems rather extreme. It's sure not the kind of values I would want to see in my kids. You know, breathing, and staying conscious, and not depriving one's brain or body of oxygen, these are sort of impo…
Back in the early 90's, a fellow runner and a friend used to do this after cross country races. She never won a medal. She would push herself like this because she enjoyed it. That said, I don't think it's healthy either. Not from the lack of oxygen[0], but rather from the need for the endorphine high.
[0]: at 18, you can't push your body hard enough to do permanent damage from running. I know several people who tried, though.