I had no idea, that's awesome! Anther shameless plug, but did you ever see our "Running Sucks," video/podcast? Check it out: Do you ever do the "ultra" marathons? Those seem a bit crazy to me and not very good for your body. In fact, my guess is that anything over a half probably isn't the best for your heart/body. I could be wrong though. You're the expert though, what do you think?
That's an excellent episode of the podcast - thanks for sharing! I hadn't heard that one. I've never done any ultras, or any marathons for that matter. I've worked up to 20 milers in training. I'm considering trying my hand at a couple marathons in 2016, but I'm not sure yet. I'm just not sure how much I'd enjoy it. I think the half is a great distance. I'd say you nailed it - anything over a half marathon can potentially be real hard on the body. Different bodies can be better equipped to handle it, but the stress of consistent marathon (or ultra) training will almost certainly have a detrimental effect down the line. The big one is knees getting wobbly, which often doesn't kick in until years after a person's hardest running is over. During training, the shin splints, IT bands, and planar flescitis can get pretty rough as well. Still, sometimes I get pretty jealous of people who do ultras. The feeling I get after a great long run is one of my favorite feelings in the world. A girl I dated in high school has a sister who's one of the top women in the ironman triathlon in the US, and she's one of the smartest and most interesting people I've met. I saw in the podcast that you did some training for a half - are you still running?
Perhaps I can claim to be the house specialist in ultras, then. I don't have any special knowledge about health and safety, but my pet theory is that overtraining is the biggest risk factor for runners at any distance. Perhaps logging fifty miles in a day causes no more cumulative damage than covering the same distance over a week, running every day or two. (At least not for back-of-the-pack finishers like me, who prioritize having fun and not getting hurt.) But the more frequent outings must interfere with recovery. It is rare that I run more than once a week, and I am even lazier in the summer and winter. I suspect that the shorter races, usually on carefully-measured pavement courses, tend to inspire more competition and focus on finish times, while the longer events are typically off-road, with irregular distances, and are perceived more as fun challenges. Emil Zatopek, the Czech Locomotive, seems to have performed better in competitions after illness or injury forced him to back down from his famously aggressive training regimen.
There's a run here in Chapel Hill, NC that I really enjoy called the Tar Heel Ten Miler and I plan on starting my training for it this week. I've not been running for over 3 months. I'm starting cold essentially. I plan on two runs during the week and a longer run on the weekend. I know that feeling you mention at the end of a long run, it's an awesome feeling. I completed a half marathon and have done 3 ten mile runs. It's a great sport.