:lol: what I am most accomplished at is getting slower.

I only run if something's chasing me. I don't think chronic cardio is good for the body.

New research shows ultra marathons could add 16 years to your life

Lucie van den Berg medical reporter
Herald Sun
November 20, 2013 12:01AM

EXCLUSIVE: ULTRA Marathon running appears to have the extraordinary effect of extending life by up to 16 years.

New Victorian research reveals that running long-distance runs can slow the ageing process by protecting the part of the body that stops the genes from fraying.

Runners in The Federation University Australia study had an average age of 43, but their biological age was just 27.

But for those not partial to pounding 40km worth of pavement, the researchers believe similar life-extending benefits could be achieved by high-intensity interval training.

The findings from the state's new university, which combines both University of Ballarat and Monash University Gippsland, challenges old assumptions that extreme exercise had a detrimental impact on the body.

School of Health Sciences Professor Fadi Charchar and PhD student Joshua Denham analysed the DNA of 67 ultra marathon runners to see what the impact of running long distances had on the length of their telomeres.

These structures are made up of DNA and protein and act as protective caps on the ends of chromosomes.

Prof Charchar said telomeres influence how quickly cells age.

The shorter the telomeres become over time; the faster the cells deteriorate.

The findings, to be presented at the Australian Society for Medical Research National Conference, found ultra-marathon runners clocking up 40-100 km a week had 11 per cent longer telomeres.

"This 11 per cent difference adds 16 years to your life expectancy," Prof Charchar said.

State representative of the Australian Ultra Runners Association Sharon Scholz said she enjoys feeling fit and having energy and the sense of accomplishment of pushing her body.

Her husband, Justin, who is also an ultra-marathon runner, said it was great to know that the exercise was extending his life in addition to boosting his fitness.

Prof Charchar said it was still unclear how exercise stops telomeres shortening and what amount of exercise was required to achieve it.

The study is being extended to look at whether high-intensity interval training could have the same effect.

"Not everyone has to run 40km every week, we think that it may be better to do a little bit of high intensity benefit rather than one hour walking," he said.

He said they are also investigating whether the benefits could make positive genetic changes that could be passed on to children.

Lucie.vandenberg@news.com.au

Are Ultrarunners Healthier Than Most People? New Study Says Yes, For The Most Part...

On January 8th, 2014, Dr. Marty Hoffman and his colleagues gave us a glimpse of some findings in his longitudinal study on 1,200+ ultrarunners. The result? Ultrarunners are healthier than your average person for the most part, with the exception of asthma and injury.

For those who don't know Dr. Hoffman, he is an avid ultramarathoner with plenty of Western States finishes under his belt, and one of the most dedicated medical researchers on everything ultra. He's also just a great guy - back in 2005, he taught me how to run down hills during one of my first ultras. If you've ever given blood at the end of the race for "scientific purposes", he's likely the guy crunching the data. This most recent study has Dr. Hoffman working with Dr. Eswar Krishnan and fellow scientists from UC Davis and Stanford to understand the general health profile of ultrarunners.

You may have caught the slightly-sensationalist version that NBC released earlier this week, Ultrarunners Aren't Always Ultrahealthy. This coverage correctly pointed out about one in 20 of the runners reported a stress fracture in the past year, and 11% of these ultrarunners reported asthma (vs 8% for the general population), and 25% reported allergies. All of these are higher than normal, but as Krishnan says this is likely because ultrarunners spend more time outside than most of us. “We are all potentially allergic to many things, but we don’t see symptoms because we don’t come into contact with these allergens,” he says.

After reading the research, I found myself more fascinated with where ultrarunners are showing better than average health indicators and where our injury types are common. For example:

Ultrarunners miss 60% less work (2.2 days vs 3.7 days for average). This includes the average 0.3 days lost to exercise-related injury. Ultrarunners also go to the doctor less.
Average days spent in bed due to sickness was 1.0 days vs 4.7 days for the general population. That's huge! But may also be indicative of a largely white/more affluent sample.
Ultrarunners score lower on virtually all chronic diseases and mental health disorders.
52% of ultrarunners have had a least one injury that derailed their training, and that skews to ultrarunners who are younger and less experienced. The chief culprit - the knee, which accounts for 15% of injuries.
Stress fractures are less common in the leg relative to shorter distance runners, but more common in the foot; researchers point to terrain as the main variable, where asphalt and cement may affect legs more and the varied terrain of ultras put more pressure on the foot.

I only run if something's chasing me. I don't think chronic cardio is good for the body.

Our hotel smelled like dead hooker vagina (before you ask I had gotten a detailed description from beardown)

I don't like white rappers.

Got my first outdoor run in months. 4 miles on Saturday felt so good. Fuck off winter.