Five women ran the virtual Boston Marathon in Iqaluit on Saturday, Oct. 9. From left: Francisca Mandeya and Kearon Nyandoro both ran 21.1 km in three hours and 36 minutes; Martine Dupont ran 50 km in five hours and 44 minutes; and Sanele Chakonza and Tina Nleya both ran 42.2 km in five hours. (Photo by Jen Hayward)
It’s a great accomplishment and I get lots of people are trying to push themselves to test their limits.
But please do not assume marathons are good for you. Apart from the obvious destructive havoc running puts on your joints there are a lot of things long distance running does to you.
To name a few, after you run a marathon you get massive oxidative stress (basically your body can’t handle all the oxygen radicals in your body from the overload of chemical reactions from overexercise). The intense cardio workout is also stressful for the heart, which shows that marathon runners have higher levels of Crp (heart failure protein) running through their bodies.