Both Shane and my Mom are always worried that I will drop dead as a result of running marathons. It didn't help that two people died the day I ran the Philadelphia Marathon -- one at the end of the marathon and one at the end of the half marathon. Finally, here is some evidence that it really isn't that dangerous.
In an article by Kristina Fiore published today at MedPage Today, she argues there isn't that much danger. Here is an excerpt.
Despite well-publicized stories of people dropping dead during or after running a marathon, the race isn't all that risky, researchers found.
Among nearly 11 million marathoners and half-marathoners, only 59 went into cardiac arrest during a race, for an incidence rate of just 0.54 per 100,000 participants, Aaron Baggish, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, and colleagues reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Event rates among marathon and half-marathon runners are relatively low, as compared with other athletic populations, including collegiate athletes, triathlon participants, and previously healthy middle-aged joggers," they wrote.
Men, however, were more likely to have an event than women, they noted.Shane wanted me to add that he does not believe it.
3 comments:
Don't tell them the risk of driving there.
When we have the occasional fatalities as a result of official running events we tend to hear later (though not always) that the unfortunate participant was unwise in a certain respect, such as not have taken on enough water during the race or hadn't done sufficient appropriate training beforehand, expecting the actual event to be easy. As I say, it's not like this for every single case but I reckon that as long as you follow medical advice and you don't take risks with a physical weakness which could make you vulnerable under strenuous conditions it should be just fine. Of course there's never any foolproof guarantee but I wouldn't think the worst possible outcome is worth dwelling on.
Phew!!! I was beginning to worry about you!!
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