Could a Marathon Kill You?

Ok, so taking a pause from my musings of our move to share this article of particular intrigue.  For those who have no interest in marathon running this might be a good time to check out...OR read on so you can learn something that may alleviate the guilt about why you're not motivated to run 26.2 miles!  The results of some recent studies are fascinating and have confirmed what I have intuitively known by the way I've chosen to get fit after pregnancies.   That longer cardiovascular exercise may NOT always be better. 

Prior to having children I trained for a marathon but would get side tracked by...well... LIFE, so I never actually completed the total distance.  Feeling a little defeated I wondered if it just wasn't meant to be.  My post child workouts (due to time constraints especially when starting to homeschool) always consisted of a type of interval training (sometimes called Fartleck) and weight training.  Meaning short bursts of intensity during cardio, circuit training and weight training.  I was grateful at how quickly I could get into shape with only 2-3 days and 1 hour per session compared to others who would do cardio daily.  I knew that what I chose to do worked for my genetics.  I was a competitive track sprinter in my younger days, so I knew my make up leaned more towards high-intensity training over slow and long.  If you've ever looked at Olympic sprinters you can see their lean and muscular physiques.  Training for longer distance would undermine their goal for speed (Specificity of Training Principles) so obviously their short, high intensity training helps them to stay lean and healthy.  On the other hand, marathon runners often look emaciated and put in HOURS of distance training.  Personally, I would rather look like a sprinter (in a fraction of the time) than a marathon runner, but loving a challenge and since there aren't too many sprint races available for non-collegiate and non-Olympic runners, folks who enjoy exercise often are pulled to the longer distances as a way to get fit and to PROVE that fitness...because after all, that's what's promoted as the ultimate in achieving cardiovascular health, right?!  Hmmm.

Interestingly, during school the children and I have been studying Greek history and culture.  Here's an interesting tidbit from our Ancient World book by Usborne:  "In 490 BC, the Persians invaded Greece.  The Greeks fought back and defended them in a fierce battle at Marathon.  A runner carried the good news over 20 miles to Athens, and then died of exhaustion.  The modern marathon race is named after this famous event".  Did this person die of a heart attack after completing the first marathon?  I guarantee this person hadn't been training for the 20 mile journey which is probably why he died, but what about those who have trained...and for MANY marathons?  The article below is very compelling in the case against repeated marathon training.  Will one race kill you?  Probably not, but seeing that it does increase the risk certainly might put a different flavor on the decision especially for a person who has the makings for cardiovascular disease.

Here are some of the findings:

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/06/10/the-marathon-myth-is-it-the-quickest-way-to-a-heart-attack.aspx

"Heart damage after lifelong cardio: In a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in February, researchers recruited a group of extremely fit older men. All of them were members of the 100 Marathon club, meaning athletes who had completed a minimum of 100 marathons. If running marathons provided cardiovascular benefit this would certainly be the group you would want to seriously examine. So what did they find?

Half of the older lifelong athletes showed some heart muscle scarring as a result, and they were specifically the men who had trained the longest and hardest.

• Heart scarring after elite cardio training: Recently published in the journal Circulation, this animal study was designed to mimic the strenuous daily exercise load of serious marathoners over the course of 10 years. All the rats had normal, healthy hearts at the outset of the study, but by the end most of them had developed "diffuse scarring and some structural changes, similar to the changes seen in the human endurance athletes."

So, will regular moderate running of 3-6 miles increase the risk for heart attack?  Doesn't seem so by the studies.  Does diet play into this mix as well?  Absolutely.  Even though many elite distance athletes have nutritional coaching it still doesn't ensure the best advice.  Dietitians and some nutritionists can be ignorant as to what to promote as healthful eating, especially if they are merely institutionally trained.  With the onslaught of GMO's, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, dyes, etc. in our foods, it takes a very different personality to choose to be educated against mainstream food.  Something the fittest athletes are not exempt from.  However, choosing to run some distance can be fun and a personal challenge (in moderation as it appears).  I really like sprint triathlons and will hopefully participate in one down the road.  They're fun for the individual who still likes competition while incorporating some distance plus high intensity.  However, for everyday health and weight loss, strength training and cardio with high intensity bursts 2-3 times per week can not only be a time saver but a heart healthy option as well.