Jim Fixx
James F. Fixx (April 23, 1932 – July 20, 1984) 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. However, he is also regularly quoted as an example of the possible dangers of exercise.
Fixx, a New Yorker, was a graduate of Oberlin College. He had worked as a gas pump attendant, and as an editor with Saturday Review, McCall's, Life, Horizon and Audience magazines. He had written for magazines such as Saturday Review, Life and Playboy. He was a member of the high-IQ club Mensa and published three collections of puzzles: Games for the Super-Intelligent, More Games for the Super-Intelligent and Solve It!. Somewhat portentously, the back flap of the first book reads: "...He spends his time running on the roads and trails near his home, training for the Boston Marathon."
The Complete Book of Running featured a striking red cover picturing Fixx's own running legs. The book sold over a million copies. In 1980, he published a follow up book entitled Jim Fixx's Second Book of Running: The Companion Volume to The Complete Book of Running.
Jackpot!, published in 1982, is the story of what happened after Jim wrote The Complete Book of Running and experienced the "Great American Fame Machine", becoming richer and more celebrated than in his wildest fantasies. He became a guru of the running boom and this is his account of the adventure. This book is hard to find, only 7,000 copies were distributed.
Maximum Sports Performance, published posthumously, discusses not only the physical benefits of running and other sports, but the psychological benefits as well: increasing self-esteem, acquiring a "high" from running, and being able to cope better with pressure and tension.
When Fixx took up running at 35, he weighed 214 pounds and smoked two packs a day. Ten years later, when the Complete Book of Running (which spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the best-seller list) was published, he was 60 pounds lighter and smoke-free. The book's strong, clear prose was an inspiration to millions. In his books and on television talk shows, he extolled how physical exercise had considerably increased the average human being's life expectancy.
Fixx died at the age of 52 of a massive heart attack, during his daily run, on Route 15 in Hardwick, Vermont. The autopsy revealed that cholesterol had blocked one coronary artery 95%, a second 85%, and a third 50%. Many who opposed his beliefs said this was proof running was harmful. However, it should be pointed out that Fixx came from a family where the men had poor health histories. His father suffered a heart attack at the age of 35 and died of one at 42. Given Fixx's unhealthy lifestyle until he took up running, many argued that running added many years to his life.
A carved granite monument - a book with an inscription to Jim Fixx from the people of North-east Scotland - now stands in Hardwick Memorial Park, in Hardwick, VT.
Videos
- Jim Fixx On Running (Laserdisc) by Jim Fixx, MCA Videodisc, INC.; (1980) Color, 53 minutes
Books
- The Complete Book of Running (Hardcover) by James Fixx, Random House; 1st edition (September 12, 1977) ISBN 0394411595
- Jim Fixx's Second Book of Running (Hardcover) by James Fixx, Random House; 1st ed edition (March 12, 1980) ISBN 039450898X
- Games for the Super-Intelligent by James F. Fixx (1972, Doubleday)
- More Games for the Super-Intelligent by James F. Fixx (1976, Doubleday)
- Solve It! by James F. Fixx (1978, Doubleday)
- Jackpot! by James F. Fixx (1982, Random House) ISBN 0394508998
- Maximum Sports Performance: How to Achieve Your Full Potential in Speed, Edurance, Strength and Coordination by James F. Fixx with the Nike Sports Research Laboratory (1985, Random House) ISBN 0-394-53682-7