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0 pointsifwinterco14d ago0 comments

I'm struggling to find it but I definitely remember reading a paper that claimed that aerobic exercise in over 60s decreased heart attack risk (which is good, obviously) but increased stroke risk.

I think the biggest risk though is acutely doing high intensity exercise (e.g. a marathon) whereas doing low intensity regular exercise (e.g. a 5k jogged at moderate pace 4x a week) is probably good.

So it's not "running is bad", it's more "running insane distances and/or running at insanely high intensity is bad", but the issue is a lot of people who get really into running end up doing one or both of those things.

One sign that marathons (let alone ultramarathons) may not be particularly healthy is that the first guy to do one famously died, and then subsequently people die doing them every single year. Yes the risk is low overall, but that doesn't mean it's actually good for you

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twodave9d ago

This reads like it was written by a person who has never seriously trained at distance running. The vast majority of such training happens in Z1/2 and is some of the healthiest motion you can put your body through. People die doing lots of things, and many other sports besides running, usually because they had another condition or disorder.

And besides, I'd much rather have a stroke and drop dead at like 70 or 75 having enjoyed an active life than deal with all the health risks and low quality of living associated with being sedentary.

slibhb14d ago

> One sign that marathons (let alone ultramarathons) may not be particularly healthy is that the first guy to do one famously died, and then subsequently people die doing them every single year

I don't find this line of thinking terribly convincing

It's well known that (even young) elite athletes with unknown inborn heart defects sometimes die after extreme exertion. But it doesn't really follow that "extreme exertion is bad for you," the lurking variable is the heart defect.

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