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Better Health 34 ENG

The magazine for patients and friends of Bumrungrad International Hospital, Thailand.

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+++++ Sports Medicine<br />

Preparing your body<br />

for a marathon<br />

14<br />

“ At least one week<br />

before the race, a<br />

participant should<br />

do a practice run.”<br />

Dr. Montinee Sangtian<br />

Marathon running is gaining<br />

popularity worldwide. It’s<br />

now common to see communities<br />

in numerous countries<br />

hold running events, including short<br />

distances of two, three, or five kilometers,<br />

mini-marathons (10.5 km), half<br />

marathons (21 km), and full marathons<br />

(international standardized distance<br />

of 42.195 km). For those wanting a less<br />

intense and competitive experience,<br />

there are also numerous short-distance<br />

walking and running events, often called<br />

“fun runs”.<br />

In this edition of <strong>Better</strong> <strong>Health</strong>, we<br />

talk with Dr. Montinee Sangtian, who<br />

has experience in organizing running<br />

events, which include marathons and<br />

triathlons in the USA. A specialist in<br />

Emergency Medicine, EMS, and holding<br />

a Disaster Medicine Fellowship Certification,<br />

Dr. Montinee reveals how to<br />

get your body ready for the challenges<br />

of running a marathon for the first time.<br />

Why a marathon?<br />

For many runners who have long<br />

trained and achieved personal running<br />

records, completing a full marathon<br />

is the ultimate test. However, this<br />

demanding form of exercise is not<br />

suitable for everyone.<br />

“Marathon running is classified as<br />

an endurance sport, requiring muscular<br />

strength and endurance, as well as a<br />

robust cardiovascular system, where the<br />

runner performs repetitive movements<br />

in the same plane of motion for an<br />

extended period of time,” Dr. Montinee,<br />

says. “Marathon running requires a<br />

high and continuous amount of energy,<br />

which is a clear distinction from shorterdistance<br />

running or sprinting. Athletes<br />

must specially prepare for the unique<br />

rigors of running a marathon.”<br />

Those considering running a<br />

marathon must evaluate their physical<br />

ability before they get to the starting<br />

line. “Some people are careless about<br />

running marathons because they think<br />

that they can stop at any point of<br />

exhaustion, or that they can probably<br />

endure. However, a marathon should<br />

be no different from swimming,<br />

for example, where most people do not<br />

dare participate if they are not sure<br />

that they can make it to the finish line.<br />

In fact, with no physical readiness or<br />

sufficient preparation, running beyond<br />

our physical ability is dangerous<br />

because we may not be aware that we<br />

have exceeded our limit and we risk<br />

having a heart attack.”<br />

Get ready before the race<br />

Physicians recommend that before<br />

you run a marathon, you get a comprehensive<br />

annual health check-up.<br />

Many people do not get these regular<br />

assessments, however, when you intend<br />

to run a race of any distance, you<br />

should at least, initially consult a doctor<br />

to check your physical health and get<br />

specific advice. A check-up ensures<br />

that you have no underlying chronic<br />

disease or other conditions that could<br />

jeopardize your health. These problems<br />

include bone and joint diseases,<br />

hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and<br />

heart disease especially ischemic heart<br />

disease, cardiac arrhythmia and hypertrophic<br />

cardiomyopathy.

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