What the hell is parkour? Parkour is that curiously captivating activity seen on hundreds of web videos, that involves running like a madman through an urban landscape, vaulting just about everything that can be vaulted, bouncing off walls, climbing, flipping and leaping like someone who took all the wrong drug and is glad he did. It is also, apparently, hard to resist. Writing in the Washington Post, Colin Bane profiles Mark Toorock, a man who is nudging parkour toward respectability. Kind of. Banes tells us that Toorock, who once worked in London as a stock brocker, became increasingly aware of the physical and psychological benefits —
and of the business potential in parkour.
Outside of work, as he began to approach superhuman feats in his own
runs around the city, he realized he might have already found it. So he
left a career he’d begun to hate to take a shot at opening a gym back
in the United States, with the aim of bringing the underground French
sport into the American mainstream. How’s he doing? Read more in the Washington Post, and do not miss the video. It’s crazy.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Saturday, May 31, 2025
It looks like fun but I could see where it could be a problem on a crowded street with collisions with pedestrians and crosswalks. In a park or among office complex buildings where there are hours without many pedestrians it could be pretty cool. There has always been a emphasis on strength training or distance running but parkour looks like fitness and personal satisfaction for anyone. Pretty neat.
I do love parkour, have a look:
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0XvxBM7hJI
andrea
Really like the vid Andrea !! 😉
Grtz Friedrich