How Running a Marathon Puts Your Body Through Hell

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Over thirty thousand runners began the Boston Marathon this morning in Hopkinton, MA, some having trained and run for years to get to this point. Their completion medals will be well-earned. From your heart, through your circulatory system, to your leg muscles and kidneys, running a marathon is sort of like putting your entire body through a meat grinder.

 

Some run with charities and keep a slower pace. Others, in elite classes of runners, will finish the 26.2 miles in just over two hours. One thing all of today’s marathon runners will share is an incredible amount of wear and tear on their bodies.

 

Body temperature rises feverishly

 

Racers start out in Hopkinton with a normal body temperature of around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. But by the end of the race, according to Mark Perazella, MD, a Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, their core temperatures will be much higher, at around 102 degrees, with the rare runner occasionally reaching 103 by the finish line—similar to a high-grade fever.

 

Full story: http://gizmodo.com/running-a-marathon-puts-your-body-through-hell-1794380470

 

Anyone ever ran a marathon? It sounds brutal!

[humqdpf]

I have never understood why anyone, except a professional or a young highly trained athlete, would dare to put themselves through this. Apart from the pain, the damage to organs and the stress on the body is terrible.

 

I lost a pal who, at the age of 60 (!) had given up the smokes a few years before and had run the London marathon - died a couple of years later of a heart attack although he had a few other complications, none of which he had before running the marathon. The way I see it, he probably would have lived longer if he just kept smoking (and I am NOT advocating smoking - it is terrible for you but probably not as terrible for some people as running a marathon at 60!).

 

Remember what the moniker Marathon comes from! The original runner, Pheidippides, ran to from Marathon to Sparta to ask the Spartans for reinforcements for the Athenians in their battle against the Persians, at Marathon. Pheidippides apparently died after he had given his message. Although, I suppose in fairness his distance was about 225km.

[hakancnx]

I've done a few and many half ones also. 

If you are well trained there is no problem. 

Yes, it's hurts, but our bodies are made for hard work....

[abab]

16 minutes ago, hakancnx said:

I've done a few and many half ones also. 

If you are well trained there is no problem. 

Yes, it's hurts, but our bodies are made for hard work....

 

But I still call it stupid.

 

We need training, not trying to destroy our bodies.

 

 

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, abab said:

 

But I still call it stupid.

 

We need training, not trying to destroy our bodies.

 

 

I think swimming is the best exercise anyone can get, no pressure on the knees for older people, the whole body gets benefits, no developing into overmuscled freaks, just wish there was decent swimming near where I stay.

[Andrew Dwyer]

I have never understood why anyone, except a professional or a young highly trained athlete, would dare to put themselves through this. Apart from the pain, the damage to organs and the stress on the body is terrible.

 

I lost a pal who, at the age of 60 (!) had given up the smokes a few years before and had run the London marathon - died a couple of years later of a heart attack although he had a few other complications, none of which he had before running the marathon. The way I see it, he probably would have lived longer if he just kept smoking (and I am NOT advocating smoking - it is terrible for you but probably not as terrible for some people as running a marathon at 60!).

 

Remember what the moniker Marathon comes from! The original runner, Pheidippides, ran to from Marathon to Sparta to ask the Spartans for reinforcements for the Athenians in their battle against the Persians, at Marathon. Pheidippides apparently died after he had given his message. Although, I suppose in fairness his distance was about 225km.

My Dad ran about 15 marathons and 10 half marathons, he ran the London marathon twice aged 58 and 62 , he also ran the Bradford marathon twice which is famous for it's hilly stretches, yesterday was his 88th birthday and he will be out on the moors with the dogs most of the day every day.

 

I am not suggesting that your pal didn't die of complications from the marathon but just saying it can be done aged 60 and over with no after effects for some people.

 

My father had a history of running and in his college days held the record for running the 3 Peaks.

I on the other hand did not follow in his footsteps and would probably suffer badly if I tried to break into a run.

[wlcart]

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

I think swimming is the best exercise anyone can get, no pressure on the knees for older people, the whole body gets benefits, no developing into overmuscled freaks, just wish there was decent swimming near where I stay.

Swimming is great exerciser, but so is running. I suggest diversity in training. 

 

My daily routine:  1 KM swim, 3 KM run, resistance training, and stretching. I am 50 but can still out perform most 20 year olds. 

 

I have never had a desire to run a marathon. 

[freebyrd]

1 hour ago, wlcart said:

Swimming is great exerciser, but so is running. I suggest diversity in training. 

 

My daily routine:  1 KM swim, 3 KM run, resistance training, and stretching. I am 50 but can still out perform most 20 year olds. 

 

I have never had a desire to run a marathon. 

Kudos to you.

 

I was in the fitness business 30 years. Exercised 3 times a day, run, lift, swim, 6 days a week until age 49, then, stroke, heart condition, pneumonia, Type 2 diabetes. Exercise probably saved my bacon when I had the stroke, but I'm still left feeling bitter as now I can't even run across the road.

 

I ran one marathon, just to tick it off, several half's, trained properly for all, better than sitting home getting fat.

 

As for exercise in general, makes you feel good but ultimately there is no silver bullet. if something's going to get you it will.....

 

As always, one man's meat.......

 

[Jonathan Fairfield]

I'd love to try and run a marathon. I've done a 10k before, which despite not a great deal of training, wasn't that bad although my time was only pretty average.

 

Has anyone trained for a marathon in Thailand? They have a lot of races in various parts of the country.

 

 

 

 

[fiddlehead]

The Laguna marathon is coming up Jonathon ^. 

June 4 or 5th this year. 
Marathons can be brutal, or they can be fun and not so stressful. 
Depends on your training and how fast you want to go. 
My goal is always to run it faster than last year. 
But each year, my times get slower. 
But I don't quit. 
Cause I don't want to look like some of these pregnant looking geezers I see at the beach some days.  (i'm talking old men)

 

Back in my heyday,  I completed the Leadville 100 in 26:39.
I trained for a year for that one and felt great. 
Up until mile 87. 
Those last 13 were something I'll never forget (and hopefully never feel like that again)
In retrospect, maybe I should have quit. 
 

 

[abab]

On 4/20/2017 at 11:20 AM, possum1931 said:

I think swimming is the best exercise anyone can get, no pressure on the knees for older people, the whole body gets benefits, no developing into overmuscled freaks, just wish there was decent swimming near where I stay.

 

 

It's not just an idea, it's fact, the best training is swimming.

 

People are crazy to run, especially in the heat.

 

 

[abab]

4 hours ago, fiddlehead said:

The Laguna marathon is coming up Jonathon ^. 

June 4 or 5th this year. 
Marathons can be brutal, or they can be fun and not so stressful. 
Depends on your training and how fast you want to go. 
My goal is always to run it faster than last year. 
But each year, my times get slower. 
But I don't quit. 
Cause I don't want to look like some of these pregnant looking geezers I see at the beach some days.  (i'm talking old men)

 

Back in my heyday,  I completed the Leadville 100 in 26:39.
I trained for a year for that one and felt great. 
Up until mile 87. 
Those last 13 were something I'll never forget (and hopefully never feel like that again)
In retrospect, maybe I should have quit. 
 

 

 

 

Run 1 hour daily and you won;t look like the beach fatasses.

 

No need to torture your body !

 

 

 

[abab]

On 4/20/2017 at 2:41 PM, freebyrd said:

Kudos to you.

 

I was in the fitness business 30 years. Exercised 3 times a day, run, lift, swim, 6 days a week until age 49, then, stroke, heart condition, pneumonia, Type 2 diabetes. Exercise probably saved my bacon when I had the stroke, but I'm still left feeling bitter as now I can't even run across the road.

 

I ran one marathon, just to tick it off, several half's, trained properly for all, better than sitting home getting fat.

 

As for exercise in general, makes you feel good but ultimately there is no silver bullet. if something's going to get you it will.....

 

As always, one man's meat.......

 

 

 

Exercised 3 times a day, run, lift, swim, 6 days a week

 

Clearly too much, see the result !

 

 

Edited April 23, 2017 by abab

[freebyrd]

8 hours ago, abab said:

 

 

Exercised 3 times a day, run, lift, swim, 6 days a week

 

Clearly too much, see the result !

 

 

Clearly too much, see the result !

 

Is that so? none of us can fight genetics.

 

3 sessions of undisclosed time and you are making judgements? I took me 3 long and hard years to qualify and I was well versed in what I was doing and I spent half of my 30 years in the business training some of the toughest soldiers in the world. Even triathletes can succumb to type 2, have heart disease etc, so what would your eloquent comments be about that?

 

[simon43]

My plan is to compete in the Bagan (Myanmar) half-marathon in late November this year.  There is a full marathon, but I don't realistically have enough time to train for that.  I still have a long way to go for training, but I'm fairly confident that I can at least finish a half-marathon.

 

I did some Googling about full-marathons and health.  Apparently, those who regularly run full-marathons actually die younger than those who do not run marathons!

Edited April 24, 2017 by simon43

[JHolmesJr]

I guess its ok if your king tells you to deliver a message to the next kingdom by any means possible..or he'll have you beheaded.

 

Otherwise, you couldn't pay me to do one. Have done many bedroom marathons though….now thats wear and tear i can understand. 

[abab]

45 minutes ago, simon43 said:

My plan is to compete in the Bagan (Myanmar) half-marathon in late November this year.  There is a full marathon, but I don't realistically have enough time to train for that.  I still have a long way to go for training, but I'm fairly confident that I can at least finish a half-marathon.

 

I did some Googling about full-marathons and health.  Apparently, those who regularly run full-marathons actually die younger than those who do not run marathons!

 

 

Not a good idea for someone overweight and who never trained enough. No idea to find any smart challenge in your life ? And not something that could kill you ?

 

 

 

 

[cornishcarlos]

I skipped the marathon and entered the Thailand Ultra Marathon... I must admit, I had trained a little but nowhere near enough... I'd done 1 half marathon 10 months earlier !!

12.5 hrs to do 50km in the mountains up in Mae Hon Song, was brutal but amazingly rewarding. The brain is a funny thing when it comes to endurance activities, you'll be surprised what your body can take....

 

Probably won't do it again but did do the Samui marathon 4 months later :)

[simon43]

Not a good idea for someone overweight and who never trained enough. No idea to find any smart challenge in your life ? And not something that could kill you ?

 

I assume your comment is a general statement about overweight, unfit people, not directed specifically at me.

 

I weigh 65Kg (down from 73Kg).  I cycle 15Km every day, jog 4Km as well, gym work every other day, full health test in BKK just confirmed that my health is extremely good for my age etc. Good diet blah blah blah.

 

The half-marathon in Bagan should be fun :)

[atpeace]

Marathons are long but not as hard as a 10k in my opinion. A 10k for older runners can really beat you up because of the speed.

 

 I can race a marathon and feel fine the next day. The heat here though is an issue and definitely adds 5-10% to your marathon times.  See guys going out at the paces they race at in Europe and completely fall apart.  

 

Also wouldn't recommend a marathon for even slightly overweight runners.  The training puts a good amount of stress on the joints.

[simon43]

 A 10k for older runners can really beat you up because of the speed.

 

That depends  whether you regard it as a race or not.

 

I'm not racing, neither against any other runner, nor against myself.  I'm going to do the half-marathon for my own personal satisfaction.  If I have to walk 50% of the course to finish, then so be it.

 

But I expect to do OK.  I am jogging every day, with an average Km time of 5 minutes, 5 seconds, which should bring me in under 2 hours for the full course.

 

Having lived in SE Asia for 17 years, I'm quite used to exercising (jogging, cycling and walking) in the heat of the day (mad dogs and Englishmen etc).  It's about 38 degrees here in Naypyidaw, but no problem for me to cycle and jog in that heat - I drink plenty of water and never push myself too hard.

[atpeace]

44 minutes ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

That depends  whether you regard it as a race or not.

 

I'm not racing, neither against any other runner, nor against myself.  I'm going to do the half-marathon for my own personal satisfaction.  If I have to walk 50% of the course to finish, then so be it.

 

But I expect to do OK.  I am jogging every day, with an average Km time of 5 minutes, 5 seconds, which should bring me in under 2 hours for the full course.

 

Having lived in SE Asia for 17 years, I'm quite used to exercising (jogging, cycling and walking) in the heat of the day (mad dogs and Englishmen etc).  It's about 38 degrees here in Naypyidaw, but no problem for me to cycle and jog in that heat - I drink plenty of water and never push myself too hard.

Good attitude and you'll do fine.  The half marathons usually start at 5:30 so depending on the time of year it will 22-29 degrees at start. Much cooler than your 38 training temp!  I haven't raced in months but thinking about the Pattaya Marathon. The 20K AG prize money isn't bad considering I would do it for fun alone.

[Radar501]

I run many full and half marathons in Thailand and beyond.   For a 300 to 600 baht entry fee I usually get in return:

 

1. food/drink on registration day, and following the run

2. race shirt/singlet

3. medal for crossing the finish line

4. trophy cup for finishing first to fifth in my age group

 

But it's the intangibles  that are priceless:

 

1. setting challenging goals for myself, and then achieving them

2. keeping fit and looking my best 

3. comradery with some beautiful, toned ladies with similar interests

4. I love running

 

 

 

 

[abab]

2 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

That depends  whether you regard it as a race or not.

 

I'm not racing, neither against any other runner, nor against myself.  I'm going to do the half-marathon for my own personal satisfaction.  If I have to walk 50% of the course to finish, then so be it.

 

But I expect to do OK.  I am jogging every day, with an average Km time of 5 minutes, 5 seconds, which should bring me in under 2 hours for the full course.

 

Having lived in SE Asia for 17 years, I'm quite used to exercising (jogging, cycling and walking) in the heat of the day (mad dogs and Englishmen etc).  It's about 38 degrees here in Naypyidaw, but no problem for me to cycle and jog in that heat - I drink plenty of water and never push myself too hard.

 

 

You certainly know yourself better than we do, but knowing your past I do not really believe :-)

 

Wish you the best and to stay alive. I wouldn't run that long at your age because I consider myself smart.

 

 

 

 

[simon43]

 I wouldn't run that long at your age because I consider myself smart.

 

Hmm, would you suggest that I slow down, become yet another of the overweight, sedentary population who die of heart disease, cancer, diabetes?

 

We can agree to differ in our opinion.  My opinion is that one gets older, it is very important (more important than for a younger person), to exercise, keep fit, eat healthy food etc.

 

Are you seriously suggesting that someone of 58 years old who exercises every day should not be able to jog or walk 21Km, after they have followed a 7-month training regime that is in addition to their normal daily exercise regime?  That person having no pre-existing conditions whatsoever, and having the health indications/values of a much younger person??

 

If you have the time, please have a look at this link (mods, I have no financial/affiliate interest in this book):

 

https://www.drlife.com/life-plan-dr-life/

 

This book explains where the vast majority of older people are going wrong in their diet and lack of exercise.

 

I'm 58 years old next month.  My top ab is fully visible now and I'll soon have a fully-visible 6-pack (a sign of low body % fat level).  Since embarking on a healthy diet and exercise regime), I have felt fitter and healthier than I have ever felt in my life.

 

You do it your way and I'll do it mine - let's see who reaches 100 years of age :)

 

 

[abab]

2 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

Hmm, would you suggest that I slow down, become yet another of the overweight, sedentary population who die of heart disease, cancer, diabetes?

 

We can agree to differ in our opinion.  My opinion is that one gets older, it is very important (more important than for a younger person), to exercise, keep fit, eat healthy food etc.

 

Are you seriously suggesting that someone of 58 years old who exercises every day should not be able to jog or walk 21Km, after they have followed a 7-month training regime that is in addition to their normal daily exercise regime?  That person having no pre-existing conditions whatsoever, and having the health indications/values of a much younger person??

 

If you have the time, please have a look at this link (mods, I have no financial/affiliate interest in this book):

 

https://www.drlife.com/life-plan-dr-life/

 

This book explains where the vast majority of older people are going wrong in their diet and lack of exercise.

 

I'm 58 years old next month.  My top ab is fully visible now and I'll soon have a fully-visible 6-pack (a sign of low body % fat level).  Since embarking on a healthy diet and exercise regime), I have felt fitter and healthier than I have ever felt in my life.

 

You do it your way and I'll do it mine - let's see who reaches 100 years of age :)

 

 

 

 

This is ridiculous, just as all the overweight stupid people seen at gym who jog when the only thing that they should do is run on an elliptical machine. If you do not understand why, its ok, your life, not mine.

 

"Are you seriously suggesting that someone of 58 years old who exercises every day should not be able to jog or walk 21Km, after they have followed a 7-month training regime that is in addition to their normal daily exercise regime?  That person having no pre-existing conditions whatsoever, and having the health indications/values of a much younger person??"

NO, I am just saying that this is plain stupid and you might know it when it's too late only.

Sorry, but you must be dreaming your body condition at 58 and you seem stubborn also, so it's a bit hopeless to tell you anything smart, as you seem to know better !

 

Also, thank you for the big laugh about Dr Life, I can't even believe that you consider this an interesting website. Now I understand a bit more about your past and all your stories. No surprise that it happened to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2017 by abab

[simon43]

Clearly a troll.  I'm done talking with you.  I ignore very few TV posters, but you've just joined that list.

[Hutch68]

People should be very careful when entering marathons, a mate of mine entered one many years ago back in the U.K. A week later he was still picking the peanuts out from beneath his foreskin.


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[Andrew Dwyer]

People should be very careful when entering marathons, a mate of mine entered one many years ago back in the U.K. A week later he was still picking the peanuts out from beneath his foreskin.


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That made me snicker ?

[Rhys]

...it is all in the training and preparation.... and your desire.