[Claps for joy] I never expected Brother Day to make the papers with this, let alone get onto MormonTimes & DesNews. Almost makes me feel guilty for not staying in town to run with them... almost. I'm glad to hear he pulled it off.

I'm not mormon. I would not run a marathon on Sunday, so I have respect for this guy.
But I've met a lot of mormons that have extremely strict Sunday rules. Their kids can't go over to friend's yards/houses to play, or even run around outside. What I wonder is: why? Jesus showed that the strict Sabbath rules are no longer in place. So why these?
Please enlighten me on why the LDS follow rules such as no marathons on Sunday (agreeable) but can't play with friends on Sunday.

Snickerdoodle, great question. I'll do my best to answer.

LDS people believe that Sunday should be focused on God and God's work. We are supposed to spend Sundays doing things that bring us closer to Him and Jesus.

Obviously that's a rule that's open to some interpretation - lots of grey areas there. So you'll find people disagree on what is allowable on the sabbath. But there are some things more or less set-in-stone, such as (I take these from the old missionary discussions written by President Hinckley):
- No work (at your occupation, that is)
- Don't do things that cause others to work
- No attending or participating in sporting events

It sounds restrictive, but honestly I enjoy not doing these things one day a week. I get to spend more time on things that matter, like being with my wife and kids.

Hope that answers your question.......

What does "Don't do things that cause others to work" mean? Can you go to the grocery store? Gas Station? Obviously people would need to work to have the particular place open.

"RE: Answer",

Yes, it does basically mean that.

I, myself, work grave shift, and even try to avoid shopping at any business on early Monday morning that would cause someone to work a Sunday night shift to cover the hours (like going to Wendy's at 1am Monday, when you know that everyone there worked most of their shift on Sunday night.)

I heard Jeff Foxworthy talk with Glenn Beck on his show about this very topic. Jeff sees the Sabbath as God's way of letting everyone take a break from our hurried life. Just one day a week to sit down and enjoy spending time with family -- without the hassle of phones, running around, etc.

To everyone,

If I made the argument- "well, the convenient store lady will be working there on Sunday whether I go or not, so I might as well go", what would you say?

If then, when there was a huge amount of beef in the grocery stores because of too much beef production, I said, "well, I don't really need the beef, but it's just sitting here, and there's too much of it, I might as well buy it anyway", what would you say?

(by the way, I myself have never justified my going to a convenient store on a Sunday by using the first argument)

Your commentary is very good if only you kept the true sabbath day Saturday the seventh day of the week. You will find nowhere in the bible that says otherwise.Hopefully Gods creation will not change any other of the 10 commandments.