3 ms·

Micah True in 2012. Also note that for marathons the number one cause of death is cardiac arrest. Now that is not explicitly what OP said, but you can see how o

Micah True in 2012. Also note that for marathons the number one cause of death is cardiac arrest. Now that is not explicitly what OP said, but you can see how one could draw a valid conclusion from that observation. I don't think that is "baseless", but I would agree that it is not necessarily a smoking gun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_marathon_fatalities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_marathon_fatalities

hsitz 8y ago
Interesting, given that I was down in Copper Canyons just a few weeks ago to run the Caballo Blanco race. I don't see Micah True as establishing anything. Yes, it's likely he died of cardiac arrest. Yes, he displayed the enlarged left ventricle characteristic of people who run a lot. But as far as I'm aware, his family history is unknown. It could be that he died of a genetic (inherited) disorder and that he actually lived longer, delayed his heart attack, _because_ he was a runner. (This is the likely situation with Jim Fixx, a famous guy back in the 80's who promoted the health benefits of running, but then died of a heart attack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx#Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx#Death ) One current conjecture in medical science is that enlarged left ventricle and scarring increases likelihood of cardiac event; at this point I'm pretty sure it remains mere conjecture. Regarding marathons: what would you expect to be leading cause of death in marathons? Surely not cancer. Running a marathon stresses your heart. If you have genetic cardiac issues (which many do) it's more likely that they will appear in a marathon than when you're walking down the street. It's a huge leap to suggest that training for a marathon increases overall risk of heart failure. It could just as easily be that the marathoner has actually extended his/her life by running, that they would have died earlier if they hadn't kept their diseased heart as healthy as it could be by doing lots of running. As far as I'm aware, there's no science out there that establishes that marathoning causes people to die earlier than they otherwise would, and lots of evidence to the contrary.
- DrOctagon 8y ago
  Hyponatremia (broadly low sodium levels from drinking too much water) is one of the leading causes of death during/shortly after a marathon.

hsitz 8y ago

Interesting, given that I was down in Copper Canyons just a few weeks ago to run the Caballo Blanco race. I don't see Micah True as establishing anything. Yes, it's likely he died of cardiac arrest. Yes, he displayed the enlarged left ventricle characteristic of people who run a lot. But as far as I'm aware, his family history is unknown. It could be that he died of a genetic (inherited) disorder and that he actually lived longer, delayed his heart attack, _because_ he was a runner. (This is the likely situation with Jim Fixx, a famous guy back in the 80's who promoted the health benefits of running, but then died of a heart attack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx#Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx#Death ) One current conjecture in medical science is that enlarged left ventricle and scarring increases likelihood of cardiac event; at this point I'm pretty sure it remains mere conjecture. Regarding marathons: what would you expect to be leading cause of death in marathons? Surely not cancer. Running a marathon stresses your heart. If you have genetic cardiac issues (which many do) it's more likely that they will appear in a marathon than when you're walking down the street. It's a huge leap to suggest that training for a marathon increases overall risk of heart failure. It could just as easily be that the marathoner has actually extended his/her life by running, that they would have died earlier if they hadn't kept their diseased heart as healthy as it could be by doing lots of running. As far as I'm aware, there's no science out there that establishes that marathoning causes people to die earlier than they otherwise would, and lots of evidence to the contrary.

DrOctagon 8y ago
Hyponatremia (broadly low sodium levels from drinking too much water) is one of the leading causes of death during/shortly after a marathon.