A 25 year old guy from Washington DC had a heart attack around mile 26 of the Pittsburg Marathon on May 3, 2015. His heart stopped beating shortly after confirming he wanted to finish the race. Over 30,000 runners entered in the half and full marathon events and the noon temperature was 73 degrees. I couldn’t find an official cause but you can read the full story at TribLive.com.
Having a heart attack was my biggest concern when I decided I was going to run a marathon. It sounds silly because I’m 25 years old but I knew Pheidippides (ran the first marathon) dropped dead when he arrived in Athens. I’m not a doctor but when you run as fast as you can for hours at a time and then “drop dead.” Doesn’t that basically have to be a heart attack?
I don’t want anyone to think I’m a cardiologist (I’m an accountant) but from what I’ve read there’s seems to be a link between heat + caffeine + exercise and heart “events”. The overlying cause seems to be an unfortunate genetic situation that gets triggered by the wrong combination of these factors. It’s unnerving because there’s basically no way to know for sure if you have the “bad gene” that doesn’t like the combo.
I went to my GP before I started running and got a referral to see a cardiologist. He performed an EKG and an echocardiogram (be careful, these can be expensive tests) to check my heart. Both came back normal and it has really given me a tremendous amount of confidence when I train and race. I still avoid caffeine. I’ll eat it if that’s all there is but there’s no way I’m chugging a RedBull and then pounding out 26.2 miles.
I was shocked to see a guy my age and from my city had a heart attack on the same day as my first marathon. Do you own research and decide what’s best for your body. Hopefully you weren’t cursed with a bad gene but is the risk worth shaving a couple minutes (or seconds) off your time? Stay informed and be careful.