Running Away from the Marathon: The Danger of Exercise

On the surface, marathons are compelling tests of endurance and human will. Runners are driven to extremes by the belief that competing in a marathon is not only a great measure of one’s fitness, but a great promoter of health. However, medical science is revealing that marathons may actually be harmful to their well being. As Arthur Siegel, M.D., director of internal medicine at Harvard’s McLean Hospital clarifies in a 2008 interview for Men’s Health, after a marathon, “your body doesn’t know whether you’ve run a marathon…or been hit by a truck.”

There is no doubt that marathon training, through moderate distance running and healthy dieting, is beneficial. The concern lies in the marathon itself. A study released in 2006 in the journal, Circulation, revealed that running a marathon was associated with evidence of heart dysfunction on imaging and the production blood markers consistent with significant heart stress. Another study published in the American Journal of Cardiology in 2001 illustrated that 24 hours after competing in a marathon the blood of runners contained elevated serum markers that are commonly associated with mild heart attacks. The actual extent of cardiac injury, both long and short term, is still a matter of the debate, but these results are disconcerting nonetheless.

The physical strain inflicted upon marathoners is not limited to the heart. There is a significant risk of skeletal muscle damage. During competition skeletal muscles tear and hemorrhage, releasing inflammatory proteins and causing muscle stiffness. A study published in the American Journal of Pathology found that the muscles of veteran runners showed evidence of localized scarring.

Health enthusiasts have adopted marathons to promote and test their fitness, but paradoxically, they may be endangering themselves. Marathons bypass the cardioprotective dividends of exercise and drive the body into the realm of increased risk. The lesson to be gained here is ‘everything in moderation.’ As Dr. Paul Thompson, director of cardiology at Hartford Hospital stated in an interview in the magazine Runner’s World “, there’s no doubt the marathon is a very hard, stressful event…we’re confident that exercisers have lower heart risks than non-exercisers, but the truth is we don’t know this for sure about marathoners.”


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