When you think of a marathon runner, how would you describe them? Most likely you would say they are in peak physical shape and very healthy individuals. For those who are unfamiliar with the length of a marathon, it is 26.2 miles! The average time of finishing a marathon is a little over 4 hours. This average is based off of elite runners who finish in a little over 2 hours and walkers who finish in 8+ hours. Since marathon runners are endurance runners, wouldn’t it be fair to assume that their hearts are in much better shape than the average person with a sedentary lifestyle? Then, why do we still hear about these top level athletes having heart attacks when they have showed no prior signs of a heart condition?
There is plenty of evidence proving that running and exercising will decrease your risk of a heart attack. Now let me get this straight…Running will decrease my chances of having a heart attack, but running in a long distance marathon will slightly increase my risk? This doesn’t make any sense because long distance runners are much better conditioned than your average runner, and their hearts must be stronger in order to endure the extreme length of a marathon. Here is where it gets tricky. It’s not actually about the condition of the runner’s heart, it has more to do with the extended period of time you’re putting strain on the heart. During prolonged exercise, which is usually classified as anything strenuous over a three hour period of time, your heart muscle cells will begin to die. It’s believed that the elevated adrenaline for this extended time-frame causes your coronary arteries to constrict, causing the cell death. Cell death in the heart is actually a mild form of a heart attack in itself. During the marathon race, and for 24 hours afterwards, you are at an elevated risk of suffering a heart attack (some fatal).
A Marathon runner dropping dead during a race is very uncommon, but it does happen from time to time. A few ways to keep your heart safe when prepping for or running in a marathon are:
1. Start out slow. Build your way up to the length of a marathon race. Your heart needs to slowly adjust to the new stress you are putting on it.
2. Go at your own pace. It’s an accomplishment in itself to just finish a marathon. Don’t focus on how fast the person next to you is going. Compete against yourself.
3. If you feel any pains in your chest or dizziness during the marathon, that is your cue that you’re done for the day and need to slow it down.
4. Make sure you stay hydrated, but don’t over-hydrate. Too many runners start chugging water after a race. This flushes the potassium and sodium out of your system, making you more vulnerable to a heart attack.
Hopefully this blog doesn’t push people away from running a marathon, but it’s only fair to know that there is some risk involved.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/runner-23-dies-heart-attack-1832405
-Tom