


Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (or lack thereof)Īfter some races, I find myself so sore I can hardly sleep. The fortunate thing is, I recognize these out of control emotions as a side effect of running really far, and I’m able to laugh at myself when the tears start welling up. I’m sure it’s also directly related to missing a few nights of sleep. I’m sure there is some sort of hormonal imbalance going on. Forget Tailwind, I might need Kleenex to sponsor me this week. I also picked this time, post race, to finally face the fact that my first baby is graduating from 5th grade, AND going to his first school dance all in the same week. I, the person who previously didn’t give one second of attention to the Royal Wedding, found myself crying while reading a story about a rescue dog on death row who is now living in Kensington Palace. The only thing I can compare this mess of emotions to is pregnancy. Here’s what I, and other avid ultra runners, have experienced in the past (and personally I am going through right now thanks to last weekend’s 90 miles.) Point being, after 24-40 hours of sleep deprivation and staying on your feet, your body might potentially rebel in some interesting ways. “Mountain ultra– marathon finishers exhibit marked immune alterations similar to those of severe trauma patients.” But if you’d like to read some abstracts, headover to and type in a few keywords. I don’t need a research article to back up the fact that staying on your feet for 100 miles or more goes beyond the threshold of “healthy” diminishing returns. The extremes of ultrarunning are not necessarily good for you, and in fact, can often be damaging. I come armed with facts and peer reviewed articles that state otherwise, and proudly preserve the reputation of the pastime I love the most.īut when it comes to ultrarunning? Well the naysayers aren’t necessarily wrong. I am always one of the first in line to defend the sport of running when some ill educated person wants to start spouting off the common “running is bad for you” misconceptions. Last Updated on Jby Heather Hart, ACSM EP, CSCS
