Name: Marathons.<\/p>\n
Age: The first modern Olympic marathon was run in 1896, inspired by the 490BC tale of Pheidippides and his 240km run to ask the Spartans for help battling the Persians.<\/p>\n
Maybe 240km should be my next training goal. I love endurance running \u2013 I\u2019m just back from a four-hour fartlek<\/a>, actually. I don\u2019t need to know that. And you might want to consider cooling it. A new study<\/a> suggests marathon runners don\u2019t enjoy particularly good mental health.<\/p>\n Nonsense \u2013 I\u2019m happy as a clam. Is this some stupid survey by a sofa shop or slipper seller? No, it\u2019s a serious academic study and the first author, Leo Lundy, is actually a multi-marathoner himself: he\u2019s done more than 400<\/a>.<\/p>\n He must have calves of steel. And what has Lundy found? Multi-marathoners generally \u201cexperience slightly higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to the general population\u201d and a subset show \u201cclinically significant mental health issues\u201d. Lundy told the Times<\/a> that while 94% of the runners he interviewed thought running was good for them, testing revealed \u201cworryingly high\u201d levels of anxiety and depression in 25% of subjects.<\/p>\n But decades of research show exercise is good for your mental health! There\u2019s exercise and exercise, I suppose. It\u2019s not that surprising the kind that demands intense levels of commitment over many months, minces your nipples, gives you the runs<\/a> and can make you pee blood<\/a> might not make you the happiest.<\/p>\n What about the famed runner\u2019s high<\/a>? I\u2019m euphoric after long races \u2013 the endorphin buzz is incredible! But how long does it last?<\/p>\n I must admit a certain \u2026 emptiness does creep in after a while. That tracks \u2013 another study<\/a> from Linnaeus University found that endurance athletes experienced \u201cvaried post-race emotions that were both physically and mentally challenging\u201d, including \u201closs of energy, ambivalence and melancholy\u201d.<\/p>\n It\u2019s OK \u2013 when that happens, I just start training for another race. Hmm. \u201cFor some runners, the habit becomes more of a coping mechanism than a joy,\u201d as Lundy put it. How are your relationships?<\/p>\n Amazing! I love trading PBs with my running club buddies and fitness app pals. I mean intimate relationships \u2013 do you have a partner?<\/p>\n For now \u2013 but last week they did say: \u201cThere are three of us in this marriage and one of them is your Strava<\/a>.\u201d That\u2019s another emotional downside to endurance running. Partners can feel excluded and alienated<\/a> by a loved one never being around or being utterly exhausted when they are. It\u2019s an identity transformation that can potentially jeopardise relationships, research suggests<\/a>. Some call it \u201cdivorce by marathon\u201d.<\/p>\n