WSHealth Risks of Exercise: Fact or Fiction? :: MyNextRace.com

Running: Health Risks of Exercise: Fact or Fiction?

Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 12:57 AM

With the recent death of a 36 year old man at the Toronto Marathon, you may be wondering if intense sport is so dangerous that you are safer staying home on the couch. According to a recent "News Indepth" article at CBC, running (and other high intensity sports) may be getting a bad rap. From the article: "being in top physical shape won't necessarily protect you from heart disease", and "runners should not get the impression that their elevated fitness levels mean they don't have to worry about heart disease ", but "Runners are more at risk while they are out running - especially if they're running a marathon. But for the rest of the day, their risk of keeling over is much lower than the general population." Bottom line: a study of the London Marathon "found that the risk of death in the London marathon was one in 67,414 - "a risk which is comparable to many daily activities.""

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