Is running a marathon good for your health?

Health News

Chances are that, unless you are a professional long-distance runner, running a single marathon – that’s one, singular – will do you more good than bad; provided that you prepare accordingly for it, that is. There is no denying the benefits of moderate running, such as controlling weight, decreasing stress, improving blood pressure, and reducing cholesterol. However, there is something called getting too much of a good thing. Research published in the British journal Heart suggests that working out strenuously for long periods can be just as bad as not working out at all. Like sex, exercise is about quality rather than quantity… On the other hand, if the quantity drops below once every eight months, I would definitely look into it.

The article indicated that high-intensity workouts that go on for more than 1-2 hours can overburden the heart. Over a period of years the heart tissue may thicken, potentially leading to life-threatening abnormal heartbeat and sudden death – not Van Damme’s movie but even worse than that. Additionally, long-distance runners have to withstand weather conditions that may be conducive to heat stroke, dehydration, and exhaustion – which is probably what did Pheidippides in, if the legend is true. That aside, marathon is for the most part not a matter of life and death – except in Stephen King novels and in Boston (what, too soon?) –, with the chances of dropping dead while speaking the words chairete, nikomen with your last breath about 0.5 to 1 in 100,000, according to study author James H. O’Keefe.

That’s for the risk of sudden death, but what about in the long-run? A study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that people who run live three years longer on average than non-runners. Even walking a moderate amount a couple of times a week can stave off early death – that is, until the inevitable day when sooner or later the Grim Reaper comes a-knocking. On the other hand, the benefits appear to diminish after running more than 20 miles per week, more than six days a week, or faster than 8 miles per hour, per a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

All things considered, if you’re thinking about running a marathon, remember that proper training can offset the possible risks. And in addition to the physical benefits, there is also of course the mental and emotional satisfaction of self-improvement, overcoming a challenge, and being part of something larger than oneself. Surely if you can finish a marathon, there’s nothing you can’t do in life in general if you set your mind to it. Like the boy in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.

Related Read:

- Is running marathons bad for your health?

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