As a Fiddle?

Inside

BEEN NOTICING all those hard bodies surrounding you at the gym and the beach? Well, sure, those are the ones you look at. But are we San Diegans as fit as we think? In a word, no. Sadly. We’ve been slipping. Badly.

According to a 2005 ranking of America’s 50 fittest and fattest cities by Men’s Health magazine, we were among the 10 fittest. Since then, it’s been a steady slide. More recent rankings have put us as low as 27th — over the hump into the fat scale — fatter, even, than Fresno. But there’s hope for us — right here in the pages of San Diego Magazine. And just in time for summer.

Our own Julia Beeson Polloreno and Adam Elder have been sweating over the story for months, sampling all manner of muscle-screaming workouts to bring you hope. The options seem endless, from hot yoga (talk about sweating — try 104 degrees) to kickboxing to The Bar Method (Drew Barrymore swears by it). And no, The Bar Method has nothing to do with martinis; try exercising with one of your legs perched atop a ballet bar.

Some of these exercises you may find more effective than others, but something’s going to work. They worked for us. For proof, Polloreno and Elder are available for viewing at our offices.

For another tale of conquering physical challenge, read Bob Rowland’s compelling profile of Brian Monaghan, one of the city’s more successful trial attorneys, struck by a cancerous brain tumor in his prime. Doctors told him he had six months to live, max. That was 11 years ago. It’s a profile in courage — not only of Brian but of his wife, Gerri, who became his steadfast advocate.

Today, after two brain surgeries and a long road of rehabilitation — including a frustrating struggle to regain basic communication skills — Brian is cancer-free. And he and Gerri are telling their own tale in a new book that chronicles their journey, The Power of Two, just out from Workman Publishing Company.

And speaking of courage: This month, in “All the Dead Heroes,” part two of The Border Trilogy, we feature investigative reporter s.d. liddick’s inside view of the explosive drug wars that have devastated Mexico’s border region. Liddick spent five years living in the eye of the hurricane wrought by Mexico’s bloody drug cartels to gather his gripping reports.

Also in this issue: Cynthia Hedgecock rides along on BOR 90, the newest America’s Cup hopeful plying San Diego’s waters, and tells its story in words and pictures. We bring you up to date on The Pamplemousse, the 3-year-old racehorse co-owned by Solana Beach restaurateur Jeffrey Strauss, whose dreams of having a 2009 Kentucky Derby winner were dashed due to an injury to his colt. And one of our lucky editors escapes to another coastal paradise for a Travels preview of the reborn (to the tune of $130 million) Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach.

It’s a dirty job, but . . .

TOM BLAIR

Editor in Chief

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