26.2 much? Even for elite runners, marathons not to be taken lightly
A marathon is not just a race against other people. It's a battle within oneself.
"There is a point at which the body and common sense has taken over that says 'please stop now,' " said Dr. Ron Carda, a lecturer in the University of Wisconsin's Department of Kinesiology.
Those who finish the 26.2-mile journey are the ones who can ignore this burdensome mental and physical request. Unfortunately, albeit infrequently, the choice to continue can be a fateful decision.
Take the case of Adam Nickel, a 27-year-old UW pharmacy student who collapsed and died from a heart ailment at the finish line in the March 2 Little Rock (Ark.) Marathon.
While it's unclear if this would have happened to Nickel had he stopped earlier in the race, that incident highlights the dangers of a sport that features some of the world's elite athletes.
The odds of dying during or soon after a marathon from health-related causes are one in 50,000. That's significantly less than dying in a car accident, about one in 18,000. Advocates of marathon running point to those figures and wonder what the fuss is all about.
"Life is a risk anyway. If you dwell on life's risks, albeit running or stepping off the curb, you're going to stay in your house," said Ryan Lamppa, media director for the nonprofit organization Running USA.
Runners like four-time Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers, who held the American marathon record from 1979-81, contend that the benefits of running far outweigh the risks involved.
"Runners are probably the fittest people on the planet," said the 60-year-old Rodgers, who has scaled back from marathons but still competes at shorter distances. He plans to take part in the Bellin Run, a 10-kilometer race in Green Bay, and another run in Milwaukee. "I'm sort of a real believer in all the good things that this sport has done for the American people's health."
Training and testing
However, the risks of running a marathon do exist. The New York Times cited a 2006 study by Dr. Arthur Siegel, a Massachusetts internist, which found that 40 percent of runners experience a destruction of heart muscle cells immediately after the race, while 33 percent had a high level of calcium deposits in their arteries, indicating a relatively high risk for a heart attack.
Given this risk, the goal of runners and doctors alike is to diminish the potential hazards.
The elite runners accomplish this by training extensively. The segment of the population that is more worrisome to health experts are the amateurs, who sometimes impulsively enter marathons and do not prepare nearly as extensively as one should.
"You can't go out and go from no mileage to 70 miles a week or an all-hill workout," said Carda, who has run more than 30 marathons. "You really do need to respect the distance, train for the distance, but you have to do it in a healthy fashion."
"I believe in getting your body adjusted over a period of some time," Rodgers said. "I started running one, two, three miles, so your body gets stronger, and your heart gets stronger."
Even marathoners in top shape, like Nickel, have died on the run. Jim Fixx, the author of the 1977 best-selling book "The Complete Book of Running," died while running. More recently, Olympic hopeful Ryan Shay collapsed and died just under six miles into the U.S. marathon trials in New York City on Nov. 3.
Both Fixx and Shay died from massive heart attacks. Dr. Pinak Shah, a cardiologist at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, discussed the necessity of being tested for cardiac irregularities, especially if one has a family history of heart disease.
"There are people out there who are exercising right now who have (a genetic disorder) and don't know it," Shah said.
"If you have never run a marathon and you're thinking about doing it and you're a casual runner, I think it certainly makes sense that you at least have a physical examination and a good, thorough checkout by a physician ahead of time to make sure that you're in good enough shape to go ahead and do this."
In light of the health dangers of running a marathon, organizers of Sunday's Madison Marathon emphasize extreme caution when talking to interested runners who have never before ventured the 26.2 miles. Often, those novices will be steered toward the quarter-marathon or the half-marathon, which in recent years has trumped the full race in terms of participation.
"We will often times say, 'You don't have to do the full marathon,' " said Scott Smith, event promoter for Madison Festivals, which organizes the Madison Marathon. "We do let them know that they need to be very cognizant of their own safety."
Weather a factor
While a runner's safety primarily depends on his or her physical state, the weather conditions play a big role in determining how well one will handle the distance. Runners prefer cooler conditions, from the 40s to 60s, while the 70s and above can adversely affect one's performance and health.
The Madison Marathon uses a system of flags to indicate to the runners the conditions of the course. The four-flag system ranges from a green flag (normal conditions) to a black flag (race has stopped because of weather or human disaster). In 2006, officials stopped the race because of the 95-degree heat.
Joe Kurian, the male champion of that sweltering race, noted the importance of focusing on the signals from the race officials.
"You need to pay attention to what the conditions are (on race day)," said Kurian, who won the 20-mile Syttende Mai run this past weekend and is aiming for another strong showing at the Madison Marathon on Sunday after finishing runner-up last year.
"Paying attention to what the course martial and race directorship is saying (is important)."
While heart disorders can be of grave magnitude, there are far more common bodily occurrences during and after the race.
A friend of Madison real estate broker Dan Rindfleisch snapped a photo of him throwing up after completing the New York City Marathon some years back. While most of his marathons have ended without incident, this time, Rindfleisch's body got the best of him. But he soldiers on.
"It's sort of the challenge of it," Rindfleisch said. "You know, the old adage -- 'because it's there.' "
2008 Madison Marathon
Where: Starts at Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, finishes at Alliant Energy Center
When: 7:10 a.m. Sunday
For details: www.madisonfestivals.com/marathon/index.html
Mike DeVries/The Capital Times
Organizers of the Madison Marathon often steer novices toward the quarter- or half-marathons.
