“I’ve run halfway around the world with a pineapple on my head.” Marathon runner – about his strange hobby

When I was at the Israeli Dead Sea Marathon, I saw an interesting picture. One of the runners was carrying a pineapple on his head. It is clear that some peoples carry loads in this way, but why did a marathon runner suddenly need it? We talked to him personally and asked for an expert’s opinion on the matter.

Moshe Lederfein

“the pineapple runner.”

I’m a professional marathoner, I run almost every day for 30 kilometers – that’s more than 200 kilometers a week. I do it with a pineapple on my head.

In 2019, he ran so 12 marathons in different cities around the world, all 42 km and 195 m of the marathon distance, keeping the pineapple on his head in balance. His collection includes runs with a bottle and even an entire package of the product. There was also a pot with a flower, but he liked the pineapple the most. Versions of unusual behavior are numerous. In the network there were assumptions that he lost the dispute and now in this way to vent or just to attract attention. Some saw a deeper meaning and decided that this is an unusual way to balance and keep his posture straight. As Moshe himself says, this is how he keeps his mind and body balanced.

Moshe: I run with a pineapple on my head to keep in touch with people. That way it’s easier for them to start conversations with me by asking questions. At first I ran with a bottle for about 10 years, but after five years I was able to run 43 kilometers with a pineapple. The fruit piques people’s interest more. Apparently, it is associated with good life, joy and tranquility. I want to spread goodness to everyone. The connection between man and nature, body and mind is inseparable. That is why the pineapple does not fall from my head. The fruit holds on even at high speed.

Is there any benefit to the body?

Since this is the topic, we decided to find out how the weight on your head affects your body.

ultramarathoner, founder and coach of the ERA club.

Running with an object in balance on your head requires extra effort to stabilize the upper half of your body to avoid head oscillations and accelerations in any direction (up-down, right-left, forward-backward). Holding an object in balance on the head, at rest and in different variations of movement, is used as an exercise in dance, some types of martial arts, physical, mental and meditative practices. Balancing for a long time – at least three hours – requires the ability to keep concentration and not be distracted by outside stimuli. This skill is likely to be developed through long, regular practice.

Is it useful?

It depends. If the goal is to be able to run with a pineapple on your head, then yes. It’s good for coordination and balance, no kidding. That said, you should start with the simplest version. A small pineapple with a cut base and very slow running, almost walking, so that the head fluctuations are minimal. Then gradually increase the size of the fruit, speed and duration of movement.

Moshe Lederfein

ألكسندر: As the exercise progresses, proprioception (the sense of relative position of body parts and their movement) and the sense of balance will be developed. Additional load will be placed on the neck muscles. Longer training sessions will help to consolidate the steady skill of keeping the head strictly upright, without tilting it back and forth or to the left or right. In normal running training, without pineapple, fixation of the gaze 10-15 m forward along the movement is used to fix this skill. The position of the head is set by the direction of the gaze – “where you look, there you run”.

You can double the benefit and eat this pineapple at the end of training, replenishing water losses (86 ml of water per 100 g of pulp) and getting 50 calories per 100 g of pulp, mainly due to quickly digestible carbohydrates. And another 200 g of pineapple pulp provides the daily requirement of magnesium and vitamin C.

Can running with an object on your head be harmful?

ألكسندر: Holding a pineapple on your head will definitely prevent you from running faster. In addition, the additional – even if small – weight causes tension in the neck muscles, which stiffens the upper half of the body. This, in turn, reduces the range of motion, depriving the runner of freedom and range of motion. Just like any other weight (dumbbells in the hands, weights on the arms and legs), an object on the head inevitably causes a change in the biomechanics of running. The ratio of masses of the moving body segments changes, which distorts the technique. That is why it is not recommended to carry something in your hands while running. Even a bunch of keys or a cell phone in your hand, not to mention a water bottle, causes asymmetry of movements.