I came across 2 recent articles about the "negative" (health-wise) aspects of running. I am not sure what to make of these 2 reports about my chosen and beloved sport.
The 1st article is from Harvard University researchers mentions the effect of marathon training on the heart. The 2nd article is on skin cancer.
2 comments:
I think it's not difficult to believe that the marathon is stressful. Hence the required training to systematically stress the body system. At an even micro level, blood capillaries in the feet actually burst due to the repeated pounding but if our body is already conditioned by the training, we shouldn't be much worse off for it.
Same for the melanoma research. When racing a marathon I always slap on some sunscreen. An easy and harmless procedure and better safe than sorry.
I agree with Carboman. This sport we love so much is a psysically taxing one. I've often (as we all have I'm sure) come across runners who experience all kinds of serious psysical maladies. And quite often I've learnt that most of them got that way by doing too much too soon. Before their bodies have a chance to adapt to the stresses induced by high mileage, it's pushed to the limits and beyond. That's why I always encourage new runners to build a very strong and solid foundation first before tackling anything even remotely as stressful as marathon running. Gradual conditioning is the key.
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