Seniors Ok Running Marathons

Which group of runners fares better in marathons and ultra-marathons—the young sprouts or the older, more seasoned runners? It turns out that the older runners have the edge. A study led by Martin Hoffman, M.D., a professor at the University of California-Davis, and Eswar Krishnan, M.D., an epidemiologist at Stanford University, found that older, more seasoned runners fare better than upstarts. The study was published in the online journal Plos One and reported by Kim Painter of the Times Herald.

The authors describe their study as a baseline report on 11, 212 runners who had finished a race of at least 31 miles. Some study participants had run 100 mile races. Krishnan believes the study sample is representative of the 63, 530 people in North America who, UltraRunning Magazine reports, completed ultra-length races in 2012.

Injury rates were highest among the youngest and least-experienced runners and those who spent the most time in intense exercise. “It’s just like teenage drivers being more likely to get into an accident. There’s probably some learning curve, ” Krishnan told Painter. Another commentator on the study suggested that those who get hurt drop out, leaving a band of stronger and older pros.

Painter reported that the ultra runners who participated in the study ranged in age from 18 to 81. Half were older than 42, and 68% were men. When compared with the general population, the runners had low rates of most illnesses but high rates of asthma and allergy. A whopping 77% had experienced an exercise-related injury in the prior year, and 65% had lost at least of day of training because of an injury. Problems with their knees gave runners the most difficulty and 5% experienced stress fractures in their feet.