James Fuller Fixx (April 23, 1932 – July 20, 1984) was an American who wrote the 1977 best-selling book '' The Complete Book of Running''. He is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution by popularizing the sport of running and demonstrating the health benefits of regular

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

. He died of a heart attack while jogging at 52 years of age; his genetic predisposition for heart problems and other previous lifestyle factors may have caused his heart attack.

Background

James Fixx was born on April 23, 1932, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He graduated from Trinity School in New York and

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. His father, Calvin Fixx, was an editor at ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' who worked with

Robert Cantwell Robert Emmett Cantwell (January 31, 1908 – December 8, 1978), known as Robert Cantwell, was a novelist and critic. His first novel, ''Laugh and Lie Down'' (1931) is an early example, twenty years before Jack Kerouac, of the American classic gen ...

and

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Workers Party of America, Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet Union, Soviet spy (1932–1938), defe ...

Career

Fixx 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!'' The back flap of his first book says: "... He spent his time running on the roads and trails near his home, training for the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ...

." Fixx started running in 1967 at age 35. He weighed 214 pounds (97 kg) and smoked two packs of cigarettes per day. Ten years later, when his book, ''The Complete Book of Running'' (which spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list) was published, he was 60 pounds (27 kg) lighter and smoke-free. In his books and on television talk shows, he extolled the benefits of physical exercise and how it considerably increased the average life expectancy. The cover of his book ''The Complete Book of Running'' featured Fixx's muscular legs against a red cover. The book sold over a million copies. In 1980 Fixx wrote a follow-up book titled ''Jim Fixx's Second Book of Running: The Companion Volume to The Complete Book of Running''. In 1982 Fixx published ''Jackpot!'', the story of what happened after the publication of ''The Complete Book of Running'' when he experienced the "Great American Fame Machine", becoming richer and more celebrated than he could have imagined.

Death

Fixx died on July 20, 1984, at age 52 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, during his daily run on

Vermont Route 15 Vermont Route 15 (VT 15) is a east–west state highway in northern Vermont, United States. Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 2 (US 2) and US 7 in Winooski and its eastern terminus is at US 2 in Danville. It is known as the ...

in Hardwick. The autopsy, conducted by Vermont's chief medical examiner, Dr. Eleanor McQuillen, revealed that

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually no s ...

had blocked one coronary artery 95%, a second 85%, and a third 70%. In 1986 exercise physiologist Kenneth Cooper published an inventory of the risk factors that might have contributed to Fixx's death. Granted access to his medical records and

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

, and after interviewing his friends and family, Cooper concluded that Fixx was genetically predisposed—his father died of a heart attack at 43 after a previous one at 35, and Fixx himself had a congenitally enlarged heart—and had an unhealthy life: Fixx was a heavy smoker before beginning running at age 36, had a stressful occupation, had undergone a second

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

, and gained weight up to 214 pounds (97 kg). Medical opinion continues to uphold the link between moderate exercise and longevity.

Legacy

''Maximum Sports Performance'', a book by Fixx published posthumously, discusses the physical and psychological benefits of running and other sports, including increased self-esteem, acquiring a "high" from running, and being able to cope better with pressure and tension. A carved granite monument—a book with an inscription to Jim Fixx from the people of Northeast

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

—now stands in

Hardwick Memorial Park Hardwick and Hardwicke are common place names in England—this is from the Old English pre-7th century word "heorde", meaning a "herd or flock", with "wic", which like the later Viking word "thorp" described an outlying farm or settlement, which w ...

in Hardwick, Vermont. Comedian

Bill Hicks William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—wa ...

frequently made Fixx the subject of a stand-up routine, humorously suggesting that Fixx's death while jogging should be an argument against exercise. Portions of that routine were later plagiarized by

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song "Asshole") and throu ...

. Australian band

The Fauves Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' ( French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values reta ...

referenced Hicks' material in the song "I'm Jim Fixx and I'm Dead Now", on their 2006 album ''

Nervous Flashlights ''Nervous Flashlights'' is the eighth studio album by Australian indie rockers, The Fauves, which was issued in June 2006 on Shock Records and was co-produced by the group with Wayne Connolly ( You Am I). Eleven of its twelve tracks were writte ...

''.

Works

* Fixx, James, ''Games for the Super-Intelligent'' (1972) Doubleday * Fixx, James, ''More Games for the Super-Intelligent'' (1976) Doubleday * Fixx, James, ''The Long Distance Runner: A Definitive Study''—preface by James Fixx, edited by Paul Milvy (1977) * Fixx, James, '' The Complete Book of Running'' (Hardcover), Random House; first edition (1977) * Fixx, James, ''Solve It!'' by James F. Fixx (1978), Doubleday * Fixx, James, ''Jim Fixx's Second Book of Running'' (Hardcover), Random House; first edition (1980) * Fixx, James, ''Jackpot!'' (1982) Random House; * Fixx, James (with Nike Sports Research Laboratory), ''Maximum Sports Performance: How to Achieve Your Full Potential in Speed, Endurance, Strength and Coordination'' (1985)

Videos

* Fixx, Jim, ''Jim Fixx On Running'' (Laserdisc), MCA Videodisc, Inc.; (1980) Color, 53 minutes

References

External links

*
Long-distance Tribute to Jim Fixx

Nearly Forgotten Oddities of the Past
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fixx, Jim 1932 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers American exercise and fitness writers Hardwick, Vermont Mensans Oberlin College alumni Puzzle designers Trinity School (New York City) alumni