Too many marathons can kill, warn doctors...

What did the article say about ultras?  Are they OK?

The heart is essentially a muscle and you would expect it to be worked hard, suffer a bit, and then recover.

Well I've been a runner for over 50 years and completed 45 marathons and umpteen triathlons so I guess I'm doomed eh?

An EKG in June of this year showed my heart is completely healthy.   

Ive just been sent a copy of that recent artical asking me if I am really going to attempt another marathon. My answer was of course, it might put a little strain on your muscles for a short period of time but there are so many benefits from it aswell. All that healthy eating and  training involved for at least 4 months has huge rewards. So much so than sitting on a sofa, watching TV and playing computer games, which im sure is far worse than running a marathon!

Drowning is almost three times as likely a cause of accidental death in the USA as firearms.

Ever since the author of the book Running by James Fixx died of a heart attack while out for a 10 mile run nearly 30 years ago the arguement has continued whether too much distance can cause irreperable damage but there is food for thought in the arguement. I've personally run 18 marathons over the years & have often wondered whether it is actually healthy or am i doing damage to myself, after all there is nothing natural in running a distance where you exhaust your glycogen levels, i've stepped down to half marathons now & to be honest i now enjoy it more than putting my body through months of hard training.

"those running typically over 8???miles an hour, appeared to get no mortality benefit compared with the non-runners, whereas those who fared best usually ran about 6–7???miles per hour—a comfortable jog for most people"

Seems very vague advice.  Surely the heart rate is the only important factor here if there is any credibility to it?  8 for some runners can be exhauting and at the top end of their heart rate scale.  For others, it can be a reasonably gentle "jog"

Exactly - with the massive range of abilities on this one forum alone, how could anyone make such a generalised comment about marathon running in general??

ps Strangely Brown - is that a Blackadder reference by any chance?

I quote from the end of a couple of letters in the Lancet discussing a paper about this

"The adverse effects of strenuous exercise for incremental efforts for more than an hour a day did not seem to outweigh the benefits. We were not able to identify an upper limit of physical activity, either moderate or vigorous, above which more harm than good will occur in terms of long-term life expectancy benefits—an observation similarly made by the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. We hope, however, that concerns about too much vigorous activity are more academic than practical, with adverse effects more short-term than long-term. Most of the general population is sedentary and our major challenge is how to make the inactive start exercising, and not to give them reasons to avoid exercise." [my bold text]

It's handy that the Lancet doesn't restrict what you can get at - Lancet letter

apparently Too Much Love Can Kill You also, according to Queen. Cue the next Daily Mail scare-mongering article.

Steve loves bacon wrote (see)

Exactly - with the massive range of abilities on this one forum alone, how could anyone make such a generalised comment about marathon running in general??

ps Strangely Brown - is that a Blackadder reference by any chance?

Oh yes.  The greatest comedy ever penned.

Do you, by any small chance, really enjoy cooked cured pig's belly?

Good man

It has been known for me to partake in said cooked cured pig's belly, yes... Running for me is mainly about earning bacon sarnies

A man after my own heart.  My reward on a fortnightly basis after my Sunday LSR is giant bacon butty.  I actually begin thinking about it and start salivating with 5-6 miles still left and can almost smell it as I turn into my road.  Talk about motivational pull!