Three Deaths at the NYC Marathon

CNN mentioned last night that there were three deaths associated with this year's NYC marathon. Bloomberg says two HERE and they mention that there were three other cardiac arrests at the event. These were the first reported deaths associated with the famous run since 1994.

This sad for all involved and my condolences to their families and friends.

In an earlier post I noted a study showing that the after-effects of running a marathon (according to blood panels) looks a lot like a heart-attack. A marathon is a serious undertaking and there are risk as well as rewards. As with any exercise regime, its important to check with your doctor to make sure that you are healthy enough to engage in the activity.

Marathon and triathlon competitions seem to be gaining more of a mainstream focus, as our general activity and fitness levels drop overall. It seems to be another symptom of the extremes American culture is predisposed to. I think that setting fitness goals (and sometimes using a race is helpful in that endeavor) can be a good thing, but running a marathon at the peril of your life is not worth it.

So, dear reader, let's set reasonable fitness goals for this week. I'm going to the gym Monday & Thursday and I'll walk Friday and do Pilates Saturday. If I get home in time, I might do a bonus Pilates workout Tuesday (business trip that day and Wednesday I teach until 9:00 p.m.).

Aftermath of a Marathon: Your Blood Panels Look Like You Just Had A Mild Heart Attack???

Okay, I'm not going to pretend to secretly hope to be one of those individuals who loses a ton of weight and then runs a marathon--an improved brisk walking pace on a 5k is more my goal (and the ability to do some more advanced yoga).

According to several recent studies:

Last year studies were conducted in Australia, Canada, and Germany measuring the effect running a marathon had on the hearts of elite to novice runners. Tests were given on the participants immediately before and after running a marathon. The end findings were similar across the board — the participants showed marked blood indicators of cardiac damage.

“We measure those same blood markers when someone comes in to the emergency room and we suspect a heart attack,” says Davinder S. Jassal, MD, an assistant professor of cardiology, radiology, and physiology at the University of Manitoba as told to the New York Times. Blood profiles like those displayed by the runners are similar to those in a very mild heart attack.”

The coverage of the study didn't say whether post-race day blood work was used to determine the long-term damage of marathon running. The myth behind the marathon includes the tidbit that the man who ran the 26 mile distance, Tippets, dropped dead after delivering his message in Athens of the Greek victory over the Persians--okay, to be fair, he had allegedly also run 140 miles in 36 hours to beg the Spartans for aid and then back again, then fought in the battle, and then run the last 26 miles after victory--so, the marathon distance alone was not the legendary culprit behind his death).

Regardless, with triathlons, ultra-triathlons (extreme long-distance events covering 320 mile distances) and other extreme sports out there today, its important to remember the human body has limits. Many runners might take offense at this studies results because it calls into question how "healthy" extreme demonstrations of "fitness" can be. I say, evidenced based scientific research is important and should be used to give individuals a good understanding of the risk and rewards of endurance training and race-day impacts on the body.

Challenge: do something for fitness this weekend that you haven't done in a while. I'll do the same.