Competitors in races like the Ironman triathlon and the TransEurope - FootRace ( TEFR ) love before they ever take up training that these backwash will be problematical on their bodies . But what about their brains ? A recent study suggests that the head does take a hit during ultramarathons . luckily , the researchers also conclude that the damage is temporary .
An ultramarathon is any footrace longer than a marathon ’s 26.2 miles . Distances usually range from 31 to 100 stat mi , and the races are often conducted off road on trails or through car park . The longest races last for solar day . Runners frequently experience blisters , gastrointestinal distraint , stress fractures in their feet , and evenhallucinations . Still , ultrarunning enthusiasts say it ’s all deserving it .
The researcher studied 44 runner in the 2009 TEFR , which involve a 64 - day trek from Italy to Norway with no rest days . The race was the equivalent ofabout 100 marathons . Understandably , scientists took an interest . Just what does a challenge like that do to the human body ?
The inquiry team brought portable MRI machines , checking up on the runner ’ legs , feet , hearts , and mastermind along the means . They used a technique called voxel - based morphometry ( VBM ) to read the brains of 12 virile moon-curser before , during , and after the race . They also monitor a control group made up of physically fit valet de chambre of the same ages as the race participants .
Two finding resist out . First , the runners ’ gristle start breaking down in the first one-half of the race , but recovered as the race continue . “ It was thought that gristle could only rectify during balance , ” research worker Uwe SchütztoldNew Scientist . “ We have shown for the first time that it can regenerate during running . ”
They also learned that the ultrarunners ’ brainswere shrinkingby as much as 6 percent as they ran . The perpetrator ? Schütz suspects under - stimulation . Running through the same landscape Clarence Day after daytime would offer little in the way of novel information for the runners ’ eyes , he toldNew Scientist .
But the loss was only irregular . Eight month later , the runners ’ brain were back to their pre - race baselines . “ It is hard to explain what ’s going on , ” Schütz intromit toNew Scientist . He noted that regular marathons wo n’t have the same outcome .
Schütz partake his findings this hebdomad at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America .
