30 year old woman dies during London Marathon

robinph wrote: »

That brings us back to my original question. Why has this made you re-think the idea of doing a marathon? Do you think you will die doing a marathon? Do you think you will die training for a marathon? What is the risk that you have suddenly become concerned about?

Hearing of this sad new has effected him psychologically. Is that so hard to accept?

What a terrible thing to have happened, I’m sure it’s taken the shine off the marathon for those who took part. My sympathies go to this young woman’s family.

It is very sobering thought that a young, fit, seemingly healthy woman can collapse and die like that. Cases like this and also Fabrice Muamba show that even the healthiest people can have underlying issues.

The one positive thing about this (bar the money raised for charity of course) is that I’m sure a lot of people will make sure they have a full MOT before taking on to run the marathon. I am 33 next month and running my first marathon this year, it would never have occurred to me to get checked out before the serious training begins, but I will definitely be getting a full health check now.

JohnnyCash, I can see why you would have some reservations about running the marathon after hearing this story, but you wouldn’t stop driving if you heard about someone dying in a car crash, or stop flying because you heard about a plane crash. We all take risks every day of our lives, get yourself checked out by a doctor, make sure you train properly and safely and the overwhelming odds are you’ll be fine!

JohnnyCrash wrote: »

Im not sure about the driving/flying analogy though,not comparable in this case;)
But all that aside,the last few posts have been more constructive.I thought at one stage I was just being a big jessy.Cheers:)

Your username is JohnnyCrash. You probably have more immediate risks to your long term health than running marathons.

Personally, I'd prefer not to know if there was something potentially wrong with me. Then I'd just end up sitting at home worrying about what might happen. While this is indeed a really sad case, especially given her family story, I hope it doesn't attract too much attention from the PC brigade who'll start to mandate medical certs and insurance premiums for events. No thanks

cambo_gueno wrote: »

Personally, I'd prefer not to know if there was something potentially wrong with me.

You'd rather die young, during a marathon (or <<insert activity here>>), rather than be in a position to identify and rectify your particular ailment? Medicine has moved on to a point where there's a pretty good chance of survival when a problem has been identified!

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

I don't want to be on the plane when the pilot has a heart attack :eek:

And thats exactly my point.The pilot having a heart attack is outside your control,nothing you can do about it;)

so much for listening to your body, eh ?

Seriously though, unless there is something pretty obvious wrong, it's going to take a lot more than a blood test and check from a GP to find anything wrong. Since Fabrice Muamba was already brought up as an example, he would've gone through pretty extensive checks as a professional footballer, none of which uncovered a problem. In fact, even the checks he received at the chest hospital didn't show anything wrong - even after he collapsed.
If I was a more serious athlete, then I would consider it, but since I am not and my health is generally good (at least according to the last check up I had last year) I am happy enough.
Touch wood, please god, fingers crossed etc.

Does ecg != echocardiogram ?

martyoo wrote: »

What is a comprehensive medical check? I'm doing my first marathon this year and need to get checked out.

Is it enough to get bloods and an ECG done?

I'm not even sure an ECG is always necessary. There are known risk factors for heart disease which a GP could check you out with, that would decide if a stress ECG is worthwhile. The simplest test that doesn't even need a doctor is to get your blood pressure checked. A regular GP checkup should be adequate beyond that.

rom wrote: »

http://news.sky.com/story/1044935/tragic-london-marathon-runner-used-stimulant
Tragic London Marathon Runner 'Used Stimulant'

"diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat by an acupuncturist." according to her boyfriends testimony.

rom wrote: »

http://news.sky.com/story/1044935/tragic-london-marathon-runner-used-stimulant
Tragic London Marathon Runner 'Used Stimulant'

What is this DMMA that was found? Her boyfriend said he thought it was a strong caffiene, but it doesn't really go into detail about it.

If you wiki it, it's a form of chemical stimulant that's banned in many countries but is still added to lots of products marketed as dietary supplements and workout energy additives. These products would be primarily sold online, so it's most likely that she had no idea exactly what she was consuming, but bought on recommendation from elsewhere.

She was into quackery like acupuncture, so it may even have been added to something marketed as a herbal or natural energy supplement.

ThisRegard wrote: »

The Irish Medicine Board and the FSAI released warnings about this last year


http://www.fsai.ie/news_centre/press_releases/supplements_DMAA_05072012.html listing the following products.

1. Hemodrene
2. Hemorush
3. Crack
4. Marrow Matters
5. Jack3d
6. Spriodex
7. Napalm
8. Lipo-6 Black

Apparently the FDA have warned several companies that have used DMAA in their products as they haven't proven their safety but they're still available for purchase. I'm not aware of any of the products on the list but then again I take no notice of anything like this

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm302133.htm

DMAA is also linked to at least two deaths in the US
http://healthfinder.gov/News/Article.aspx?id=671269


Brings up an issue that I've often wondered, how many amateur athletes take some form of 'performance enhancement' supplements, be they natural or manufactured.

Edit: Reading that thread nerraw linked to, it's obviously a big thing in the body building world, scary when people claim it's safe contrary to the FDA and evidence proving otherwise.

Never heard of any of them Where do you get Jack 3d? Is it like that other energy drink stuff in supermarkets and pubs? Only thing i ever took was redbull with vodka of course!!

youtube! wrote: »

Dunno if it has been mentioned yet on this thread or how widespread the knowledge even is but the facts are that Marathon running,even though the pinnacle of endurance is actually a very dangerous act.

Yes this woman was on stimulants but even so the study below shows that the heart is not designed for the stresses of Marathon running over time, as it says once in a lifetime is about as much as one should do. Personally I started running 5Ks last year and am going towards 10K but thats it!


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9712585/Too-many-marathons-can-kill-warn-doctors.html

Marathon running no more dangerous than crossing a road. You listen to your body, dont over do it, get regular check ups etc.

youtube! wrote: »

Dunno if it has been mentioned yet on this thread or how widespread the knowledge even is but the facts are that Marathon running,even though the pinnacle of endurance is actually a very dangerous act.

They cite the example of Micah True, the hero of the book Born to Run about ultra-endurance running.
He died in March, aged 58, on a 12-mile training run in New Mexico. He routinely ran a marathon a day, sometimes more.
They believe that decades of such exertion led him to develop Phidippides cardiomyopathy.

Seriously? To prove how dangerous marathon running is, they cite the case of a man who ran 170 miles a week for 38 years? The guy ran more marathons in a month than most leisure runners do in their entire lives.

Back-of-napkin figures suggest that's about 320,000 miles over the course of his life, nearly 14,000 "marathons". That to me demonstrates that long-distance running is in fact exceptionally safe, especially if you only run a small number every year.

seamus wrote: »

Seriously? To prove how dangerous marathon running is, they cite the case of a man who ran 170 miles a week for 38 years? The guy ran more marathons in a month than most leisure runners do in their entire lives.

Back-of-napkin figures suggest that's about 320,000 miles over the course of his life, nearly 14,000 "marathons". That to me demonstrates that long-distance running is in fact exceptionally safe, especially if you only run a small number every year.

Here's an interesting paper on the topic.

Jeez the Marathon Nazis are out in force today huh?

Thank you Louthandproud for the paper the conclusion of which I have pasted below...facts are facts.






CONCLUSION
The take home message for most is to
limit one’s vigorous exercise to 30–
50 min/day. If one really wants to do a
marathon or full-distance triathlon etc, it
may be best to do just one or a few and
then proceed to safer and healthier exercise
patterns. On the other hand, light or
moderate intensity exercise does not
present the dose-dependent risks associated
with excessive endurance exercise.
A routine of moderate physical activity
will add life to your years, as well as
years to your life. In contrast, running
too fast, too far, and for too many years
may speed one’s progress towards the
finish line of life.
Contributors JHO and CJL contributed.
Competing interests None.
Provenance and peer review Commissioned;
internally peer reviewed.
Author note A video presentation on this topic is
available on the internet: You Tube, TEDx Talk, James
O’Keefe, Run for your life… at a comfortable pace and
not too far.

youtube! wrote: »

Jeez the Marathon Nazis are out in force today huh?

Thank you Louthandproud for the paper the conclusion of which I have pasted below...facts are facts.






CONCLUSION
The take home message for most is to
limit one’s vigorous exercise to 30–
50 min/day. If one really wants to do a
marathon or full-distance triathlon etc, it
may be best to do just one or a few and
then proceed to safer and healthier exercise
patterns. On the other hand, light or
moderate intensity exercise does not
present the dose-dependent risks associated
with excessive endurance exercise.
A routine of moderate physical activity
will add life to your years, as well as
years to your life. In contrast, running
too fast, too far, and for too many years
may speed one’s progress towards the
finish line of life.
Contributors JHO and CJL contributed.
Competing interests None.
Provenance and peer review Commissioned;
internally peer reviewed.
Author note A video presentation on this topic is
available on the internet: You Tube, TEDx Talk, James
O’Keefe, Run for your life… at a comfortable pace and
not too far.

They uses the word "maybe" for god sake. Article also said marathons wont kill anyone.

drquirky wrote: »

In fairness you are someone who doesn't exercise and is posting negative, biased research in the Athletics and Running forum and telling us what we do is unsafe...what kind of response did you expect? BTW if marathon running is so dangerous, where are the bodies? Surely there should be 10's to hundreds of dead people at the end of a big city marathon, no?

I refer you to my original post, specifically this part

Personally I started running 5Ks last year and am going towards 10K


A little presumptuous of you to say the least? I love to exercise but I am not foolish enough to overdo it! The human body was always designed for short bursts of intense activity as far as I can see thats why I am also doing HIT training, if you enjoy you Marathons then fair play each to their own,but at least my heart will not end up like an over stretched balloon by the time I am 60 because like it or not thats whats happening.

youtube! wrote: »

Show me where I disagreed with this? Obviously a marathon runner will have a healthier heart than a sedentary couch potato,what I am saying is Marathon running is over doing it and goes against our evolutionary make up!

Where is your evidence for this? Because it's not what the papers referenced are saying

Rugby & Football have statically far more deaths and life threatening injuries but as both bring in a sh*t load of money in advertising for the media companies it is not popular to say this. However as a marathon unfortunately does not have a half time to pump in two ad breaks and draws less people to view ads verus the big cost of filming the event. Basically marathon running is an easy target as it generally does not have big money behind it to push product. Most elite runners would hope to earn around what the third tier of english football earns which is on average 45k per year. This could be less.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2055140/Premier-League-wages-FIVE-times-Championship.html

youtube! wrote: »

The human body was always designed for short bursts of intense activity as far as I can see

youtube! wrote: »

what I am saying is Marathon running is over doing it and goes against our evolutionary make up

What leads you to that conclusion?

Anything I've read suggests the opposite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting