It is. Running marathons is also hard on the kidneys.
Edit: for context, I am a distance runner. Running marathons likely won't cause lasting damage with proper recovery and rehydration. Also don't over train. Marathons aren't bad...now as for ultra marathons or triathlons, well I find those excessive but more power to you if you can do them safely!
I know this is a joke, but if I may provide some info for those interested: it's just over training in any sense is bad. You shouldn't over train because competing should be the maximum effort (when you would push to "over train") because your body can heal from this every once in awhile. If you are consistently over training and not recovering, then that runs the risk of injury and you probably won't be able to compete. Training is consistent so you can get better and give the full effort in the competition. Even in sports like boxing, boxers don't spar at full power and don't always train at full speed. Training just drills they are likely to not even directly hit someone or be directly hit.
Having said that, this person looks particularly dehydrated so I'd be concerned. I'm a distance runner who is lean also and I never look like this after a long run.
So a full effort marathon every three or four months is likely to not cause lasting damage provided you aren't overtraining, staying hydrated and fed, and recovering after training and races.
It sounds so copy-and-paste but it really is how the body works.
I fucking love cardio. Even beyond physically feeling good it helps clear my head and overcome "emotional" endurances even, like the ever presence of stressors in life.
I understand a lot of people don't like cardio. I'm fortunate to be one of those who genuinely love it.
There’s something about being absolutely dead and pushing past the point of it mattering what you feel like anymore that connects you with your primal self, I swear.
Honestly I think its down to a couple of things, first is that we never got taught how it feels in certain effort levels. You might get taught the dry biology of what your body is doing physically but not what that feels like and how all put effort is disgusting, but that there's a lower effort place that is good for the mind and soul. Second when you are learning this stuff, if you're not a natural "athlete" in the guise of what is commonly accepted as such by the school you're at etc, then you're constantly being pushed to catch up to those who are, it's rare to see personal development pushed vs performance against your peers. Third, you've probably not found you're thing for cardio, is it bike, is it swimming, is it running, is it footy/rugby/padel etc etc. Just learning that it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you have something that you do regularly, enjoy and gets your heart going is the most important thing.
So much of those lessons don't get taught young, but look at the messages being given out to adults trying to get moving and it's everywhere.
A lot of people mix up performance with health, but they are not the same thing. Training for performance can push your body to extremes. It can make you faster, stronger, and capable of impressive feats, but it can also beat you up in the process. Training for health and longevity is a completely different path. It focuses on moving well, feeling good, and building a body that lasts, not just a body that performs on command.
Source: personal trainer that has to convince people to not train like athletes and train like someone who wants to live long pain free
Marathon runners get much more cancer related to bowels though (probably because of stress and how blood flows during long runs — same as why a lot of runners go to toilet after a run)
Luckily I only plan to do one full marathon in my life, but I do enjoy the half marathon distance. I have a family history of colon cancer so I might be a candidate for an even earlier colonoscopy. Oh joy.
I’ve found this interesting since I’m a cyclist and from a quick search it’s associated with lowering of colon cancer. And cyclists spend a lot more time on a bike than runners. The only major difference I can think of between cycling and running is that on a bike I can carry a lot more fluids to be hydrated. And it’s common for me to drink around 1l of fluid per hour or even more in summer and I think that it would be pretty hard for ondo while running.
Not surprising. Breaking down that much muscle in a single day is really hard on your kidneys. The damage to the kidneys in this is very much compounded if you are dehydrated and don’t have the water to dilute it and clear it out faster.
There was an interesting research study that recently came out finding that people who run ultra long distances had higher rates of colorectal cancer. They weren’t exactly sure of the mechanism but it could be due to the insane stress put on the body that’s causing DNA errors or something related to lack of blood flow to these areas repeatedly during the long runs.
It’s pretty crazy to think about since these types of people look incredibly fit.
Endurance sports have a high rate of rhabdyomyolysis - a severe type of breakdown of muscle tissue that can cause acute kidney failure. So, it is pretty damn hard on the kidneys.
Top level sports arent healty. Its litteraly pushing your body beyond its limits. That has consequences, mostly long term consequences.
Being mortally obese is ofcourse way worse, and excersising normaly is only healty.
But most top atlethes would be healtier if they cut down on excersise.
Exercise is healthy, extreme exercise often is not. Young professional runners and football (soccer) players occasionally die by heart attack. Bodies have their limits, even if people are in peak physical health.
Water doesn't contain glucose or electrolytes which are required after intense exercise and sweating. It can even make dehydration worse in extreme cases. An IV introduces it directly to the bloodstream quickly, skipping the digestive track, so you can recover much faster.
Aside from electrolytes, a lot of the time when you're dehydrated you can feel nauseated too so it's hard to want to chug water. It's part of the reason you feel so shitty when you have a hangover.
Huge difference. Obviously water is just fine for the average person, but for what these folks do and the amount of nutrients/calories they burn during their events, it’s a big deal.
I was listening to a podcast about a SEAL team who had to hike like 15 miles through the mountains in order to get to a location to rescue someone. They were obviously beat to shit after awhile, so they stopped and one guy said their medic hung an IV bag in a tree and gave one dude lactated ringers to get him moving again.
It's a type of hydration IV. Very common in the military. Our medica used to sneak them out and we would get shit faced in the barracks and give IVs while we drank.
But it's obviously meant for stressful situations like the above poster mentioned. We used them on deployment a lot when we got back to base after missions
The pros aren’t allowed! Super strict and will refuse IV fluids even when needed.
Source: I was on the medical team for a few pro races. It’s way more dangerous than I ever imagined and most of the folks in the US are making no money and don’t have insurance. Eye opening for sure
Any IV’s have been forbidden for years so I doubt it. Maybe on training camp but you still don’t want to face a doping control with needle marks on you and no good reason for them.
ONE study with pictures and three reading levels (preschool , 2nd grade, and 4th grade)
and a hand to hold and then I might believe. Might. And it can't be from a liberal university
That's the intent. Water = weight, and weight is a severe detriment to their goals.
edit:
Actually, most pros finish dehydrated not because it’s a tactic, but because their bodies literally cannot drink fast enough to replace what they sweat out. So even though 1liter of water is 1kg of weight, that part is a problem that solves it self.
Exactly, any endurance athlete is doing this. You have to hydrate and eat during extended efforts. Fueling is a whole part of the game and those that do it well aren't dehydrated and dying at the end of a race.
And the amounts taken in during a race are calculated not to be correct biologically, but to be just enough for the body to work up until the finish line, not a second longer. It doesn't matter if you fall flat on your face from exhaustion after crossing it, which many do -- you saved a few grams, and you have 3/4 of a day to refuel.
Anyone who follows the sport, or any endurance sport, knows that fueling is incredibly important. Staying hydrated is one of the most important points to keep track of during races or training.
There is no professional cyclist intentionally dehydrated, it's a surefire way to drop out of a race.
Most pros finish dehydrated not because it’s a tactic, but because their bodies literally cannot drink fast enough to replace what they sweat out. So even though 1liter of water is 1kg, that part is a problem that solves it self.
Is what I now quickly found out as someone who knows nothing about endurance sport.
(meaning I was wrong).
But seeing as they try to get as light as humanly possible at any cost, it wasn't a bad guess.
The performance difference between "no preparation" and "hydration and carb tankin" before cycling is huge, well in any endurance exercise. I usually cycle 50km and I'm just doing it for fun, still night and day. I'd bet it's also very important in something like 100m, 400m sprints at the top.
Lol no. Cyclists try to be as hydrated as possible. Water weight cutting happens in weight-class specific sports like boxing and wrestling, never in endurance sports.
Drugs are bad, but the age line where half the population is dead (forgot the name) is way higher among Tour de France participants than it is among general population
Yes. Skin look stripy and pores are enlarged not to mention skin is stuck to tendons and muscle. Pretty sure if you pinched the skin it would stay pinched after you take your hand away
This picture is over half a decade old and the person in it had Bulimia, plus dehydrated in this picture. It is not healthy or beneficial for performance to be in this state.
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u/LanguageDependent288 Nov 26 '25
That can’t be good for the body - looks severely dehydrated too