Though many athletes prefer to keep it hush-hush, a number of devout runners are also devout smokers. The LA Times takes a look at the unlikely phenomenon, moved to investigate by a recent Runner’s World poll which found that 2% of responders smoked without their running friends’ knowledge, while 4% openly lit up.
“They're not proud of it,” said the magazine’s editor, himself an ex-smoker. But “it's that addictive element—I understand where they're coming from." (More smoking stories.)