Marathon Day: Is it safe to run 26.2 miles sick?
Imagine. You’ve trained for months, logging hundreds of miles, in all sorts of weather conditions to prepare for your marathon. Then ten days before your big event you start to feel badly. You develop a persistent cough coupled with tightness in your chest and troubled breathing. Thinking all you need is some medication you head to the drug store. Now it’s the weekend before your marathon. You start taking an over-the-counter cough suppressant, but it fails to alleviate your discomfort.
Monday morning you go to see your doctor. You inform her about your marathon in six days. During your visit she pokes and prods for a few minutes while asking you a series of questions. Afterwards, she begins to communicate her thoughts. You try to focus on the words coming out of her mouth, “blocked airways, sinus infection, allergies, wheezing, inflamed lungs…,” but you drift off thinking about your marathon on Sunday, January 17, 2010. Her only solution is to prescribe you steroids and nasal medications to open your airways and reduce inflammation in your lungs. Trying to remain optimistic, everything inside of you is hoping the medications will work.
A day later, you still have the cough. You call the doctor and inquire about a prescription for a medicated cough syrup. She calls in a prescription for you and wants to see you on Thursday. After one dose of the cough syrup you start to feel some relief. Even better, you can sleep throughout the night without coughing.
On Thursday, after her examination, the doctor schedules you for a chest x-ray to make sure you don’t have walking pneumonia. Thursday afternoon she calls and informs you that your chest x-ray has come back clear indicating no evidence of pneumonia. She believes you’re okay to run your marathon. Thursday evening you drive from Dallas to the Houston area with the continuing persistent cough that is now starting to produce mucus. You think, Okay, this is good. Now the congestion in my chest is breaking up.
The reality, though, is that it’s time to admit to yourself that the medications will not get you 100% (or even 80%) healthy by Sunday and your breathing capacity is not up to par. And with that, the question becomes, do you run on marathon day or not?
Having completed four full marathons with good finishing times, I would have never imagined me in that scenario. When you train for months to run 26.2 miles, the one constant thought on your mind is to stay injury-free. That’s why so much emphasis is placed on following the weekly training schedule, training smart, using non-training days to rest and recover, and eating healthy.
But, there I was the Saturday before the Houston Chevron Marathon contemplating what to do after picking up my race day packet at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
That same evening, one of my friends who’s a nurse, listened to my chest. Then, she confirms, “You are still wheezing and your colored mucus indicates infection. Your breathing capacity for the marathon will be diminished.”
So, ask me if I ran that Sunday? The answer is yes.
After taking a dose of my cough syrup on Saturday night, I awoke feeling rested and ready on marathon day. In a crowd of more than 20,000, I knew it would be a long journey. I started out conservatively. Although I was coughing and expelling mucus along the way, I was doing okay. Then around mile 10 something special happened. I ran upon Ken, an ex-supervisor who inspired me to start running over 15 years ago. I hadn’t seen him since 1995. After a quick embrace and few moments of chit-chat, I proceeded on with a pace that was now starting to slow.
Around mile 13, I began to struggle more and more. My pace became slower and slower. I was cautious about each labored breath and stopped frequently. At mile 20, I just wanted to give up. I hurt like I’d never hurt before in a marathon. Coming out of a portable toilet around mile 22, I saw Ken ahead of me. I ran fast enough to catch up to him. When I made it alongside of him, the only thing I could say, Ken, I’m having a hard time and I need you to get me to the finish line. His reply, “Come on. Let’s do it.” It’s funny. From that moment, it seems like the run got easier as me and Ken ran slowly while reminiscing about the old days. Of course I didn’t PR but I finished.
So, should I have run my marathon? The answer is no.
I’m blessed to have had a favorable outcome. According to David Nieman, Ph.D., who heads the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University, and has run 58 marathons and ultras, uses the “neck rule.” Symptoms below the neck (chest cold, bronchial infection, body ache) require time off, while symptoms above the neck (runny nose, stuffiness, sneezing) don’t pose a risk to runners continuing workouts. Another doctor, Jeffrey Hall Dobken M.D., allergist/immunologist and ultramarathoner in Little Silver, New Jersey, says some sinus infections, when stressed by exercise, can lead to pneumonia or, in extreme cases, respiratory failure.
My decision to run the Houston Chevron Marathon will not make the list of smartest things I’ve done. Two days later, my doctor prescribed more steroids, an antibiotic, and an asthma pump to go along with all of the other medications. Yes, my lungs were worse off afterwards. And two weeks later, I’m still recovering. With all of that, though, I do believe everything happened the way it did for a reason. If I had been running at a healthy pace doing the marathon, I probably wouldn’t have crossed the finish line with the person who introduced me to the sport many years ago; the person who has made such a difference in my life.
Although I would advise against running under such conditions as I did, I thank God for the mental strength and perseverance to reach the finish line. The realization: There will be many marathon events to participate in, but you only get one life to live. My advice: Don’t risk your life by running under less than favorable health conditions. Volunteer instead or stay home.
About the author: Bridgette L. Collins is president and founder of MAC Fitness, a fitness consulting firm in Grand Prairie, Texas. She is a recognized fitness coach, motivational speaker, and writer who loves to participate in half and full marathons. She is the author of Destined to Live Healthier and Imagine Living Healthier, two books that have empowered many through the collection of fictional stories that tell of real life challenges with weight, health, work, marriage, and lack of self-love. You may contact Bridgette by email at Bridgette@bridgettecollins.com or BridgetteCollins.com.
You’re going to be taxing your immune system even more. I have a slight cough left over from a 3 week old cold. Here is the event that I am considering this weekend: http://alivemark.com/charity_events_discounts.html
Let me know if you know of any other good charity events… info@alivemark.com
Running at less than an optimal level can be taxing on the immune system depending on the illness. And depending on the mileage of the event, even running with a slight cough can prove unfavorable. But, if you’re set on participating, your confidence and an establish foundation of consistent endurance running will hopefully give you the stamina you’ll need to finish.
Sometimes it’s hard to know when you are too sick to run when you are at that borderline stage of a cold. I can imagine how you realized halfway through that you should not have run that day. And there is no shame in stopping; there will always be another race. I think volunteering on the day of the race is a great way to still participate. I think this is great advice.
OK, definitely not! I can run 13.1 without getting tired, but there is still a long way to go. You should look into running more and longer distances. You are right: you can get too tired and walk, but there will be risks of participating in a marathon without proper training. Just remember: MAKE SURE TO TRAIN MORE ON LONGER DISTANCES: YOU SHOULD DO A 20 MILE RUN BEFORE TRYING TO RUN A MARATHON. IF I WERE YOU I’D BUY HAL HIGDON’S MARATHON BOOK
Actually, running enough miles was not my problem. I ran plenty of long milers from 16 to 22 miles. Within the six weeks prior to my marathon, I ran an 18 miler, two 20 milers and a 22 miler. All in 36 degree and the 18 miler was in a cold temperature with ran….
I’m sure my situation had more to do that and the fact that my body’s resistance was low from doing double duty. In August I started training a group for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation to run the half marathon in Las Vegas (December 2009). You see, I’m a half/full marathon coach. Around the end of September, I had started adding mileage on Saturday mornings: running 9 to 12 miles before the group to get ready for my full marathon, then another 8 to 10 with the group. …
Running all of those high miles week after week for so long, along with my other workouts probably had something to do with me getting sick. So, you see, proper training was not an issue for me, I ran plenty of miles… lol…