Every year around this time several of my habitually unfit patients march in to my clinic and proudly announce that they have decided to do the London Marathon to get fit. My heart sinks. Running the marathon will not make them healthy, it will probably do quite the opposite.
People forget that the marathon is an extreme event. Even running intensely for an hour a day puts your body under so much stress that it will begin to break down. There is a very good reason why so many committed marathon runners look like they are suffering from fatal diseases.
The intensity of some training regimes, and the lack of efficiency of others, mean that the body will either be seriously damaged during training or totally annihilated by the main event. Here's an analogy: drinking water is a generally healthy thing to do, drink too much and it can kill you.
Some people are built for long-distance running and others aren't, but this is never taken into account. They may be able to push themselves by training and just about manage to finish the course, but will do their bodies no good at all in the long term.
Researchers from the Heart and Stroke Foundation will back me up. By MRI scanning hearts of runners they found that without proper long-term training marathons damaged the hearts of less fit runners. The exercise-induced injury is reversible over time, but could take up to three months.
Poorly prepared runners were also found to become more dehydrated and show greater loss of function of important areas of their hearts.
I fully expect to be bombarded with criticism for writing this, so let me just make what I'm saying absolutely clear: if you want to run a marathon, then do so, especially if you can raise some money for good causes along the way. But make sure that your training regime is suitable or you will almost certainly do yourself more harm than good.
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ReplyDeleteSadly I can say I'm living proof of this. I ran the Canberra Marathon in 1990 - I took nearly 9mths to get 'into shape' and I was in the Army so I was reasonably fit to start with.
ReplyDeleteMy knees are gone, ankles shot, hips etc... sad thing is... I haven't been able to run for 10 years but I'd give anything to run another 10k just for the endorphine kick
The good thing about running is that you can do it anytime anywhere with decent shoes being the only special equipment. So, what is a healthy distance or amount of time to run for?
ReplyDeleteId agree with that, too many fatties try to complete a fit persons task. Any type of training is all about progressive overload, whether it be starting at a 50KG squat and gradualy moving up to 150KG over a long peroid of time or starting at a 3km run and gradually building up to 30km.
ReplyDeleteWhy could you just not respond with "that's a great idea but a marathon is a long term goal, I advise you aim for a 10k this year and perhaps a marathon next year". Not difficult is it. You might even be able to advise them where to head for the advice on planning a training programme.
ReplyDeleteMany people do indeed use the marathon as a way to either get fit or loose weight - which can bring about neither outcome for many people. What people fail to take into account is the stress they put their bodies under in the ‘quest’ for body beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIt is up 7x your bodyweight that goes through your joints every time you strike the pavement. Weak knees and/or ligaments can provide increased instability and injury that travels both up and down; ankles and hips upwards. This load is also detrimental in the long run to the pelvic floor which is put under even more pressure especially when the body begins to tire and the “strike” against the pavement becomes heavier and or the person has bad posture or structural issues. The internal organs “sit on” this hammock like sling at the base of the abdominal cavity and with no regard for its role or responsibility within the trunk, or indeed its rewards or debilitation, you may just find your suffering from one of the many dysfunctions that will remove your confidence, and can cause embarrassment and feelings of isolation or hopelessness for a better outcome.
Marathon running is never straight forward and many do not want to hear, but my late father always said “If you can’t hear, you feel.” Marathons should never be taken lightly and marathon training should never be underestimated, or the appropriate diet, water intake & sleep.
It is your body - if you want it to last for the long run, then have regard and it will have regard for you. Ensure Success does not only apply to business x
I am running Edinburgh next month and am now terrified.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that humans were not designed to be running for long periods of time, our hunter-gatherer ancestors would wonder what on earth we are up to !
ReplyDeleteHowever I have just started running this year (up to 7k) and I enjoy it- would like to know what an advisable distance is and how often though
"Habitually unfit patients" need to develop new habits that will improve their quality of life and running is certainly a good habit to have. I don't know anyone who would recommend running a marathon without proper preparation and the general consensus is that it will take regular committed training for 6 months prior to the race. The problem with articles like yours is that they discourage not only marathon running but recreational running of shorter distances too. You say "Even running intensely for an hour a day puts your body under so much stress that it will begin to break down." Where is the evidence for that? The body recovers and I know many many people who run for at least an hour a day. And we aren't all super thin athletic types. I have run for an hour a day every day since Jan 1st 2009 with no ill effects and no injuries. Plus a 1.5 stone weight reduction and a desire to play football with my young son. I'm 48 and didn't run a step until I was 40 when I was challenged to run the London Marathon. that was the launching pad to a healthier life as it is for so many people.
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