• You can have too much of a good thing when it comes to exercisingREUTERS/Lucy Nicholson You can have too much of a good thing when it comes to exercising REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson While exercise is important for a long and healthy life, ultramarathons may accelerate the ageing of cells in ourblood. • Athletes who ran 170 kilometres over mountainous terrain accumulated more age-related damage to their red blood cells than those who completed a shorter distance. • Long-distance runninghas been linked to health issues before, such as temporary suppression of the immune system and anaemia. • But we only now have an understanding of what it does to red blood cells - which transport oxygen around the body - particularly when done outside on mountainous terrain. • Read moreWhy slow running could be even more beneficial than running fast Read more Why slow running could be even more beneficial than running fast Advertisement Angelo D’Alessandroat the University of Colorado Anschutz and and his colleagues analysed blood samples from 11 adults aged 36, on average, within a few hours before and after they ran a trail 40-kilometre race. • They did the same for a separate group of 12 people of around the same age who competed in a 170-kilometre ultramarathon over similar terrain.
Article Summaries:
- A study from the University of Colorado Anschutz found that ultramarathon running may accelerate ageing of red blood cells. Researchers compared blood samples from 11 adults who ran a 40‑km trail race with 12 who completed a 170‑km ultramarathon on similar terrain. Both groups showed increased oxidative damage to red blood cells, but the ultramarathoners had substantially higher levels and a shift from the normal disc shape to a more spherical form, which can cause cells to be removed in the spleen. The ultramarathon group also experienced a ~10 % drop in red‑cell count, though this was not enough to cause anaemia. Follow‑up work will examine recovery time and potential effects on performance.
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