{"id":497431,"date":"2026-06-27T00:34:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T00:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/497431\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T00:34:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T00:34:32","slug":"can-too-much-running-cause-colon-cancer-new-study-raises-questions-about-extreme-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/497431\/","title":{"rendered":"Can too much running cause colon cancer? New study raises questions about extreme training"},"content":{"rendered":"<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">After seeing three marathoners with colon cancer in a span of about six months, oncologist Dr Timothy Cannon could not help but wonder if it was more than a coincidence.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Could there be a connection between the cancer and the gastrointestinal (GI) problems many runners experience during long events?<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cRunner\u2019s ischaemia is well described,\u201d says Cannon, a researcher from the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in the US state of Virginia, referring to a condition that develops during prolonged endurance exercise, when blood is diverted away from the digestive system and towards the working muscles.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">This can leave the gut temporarily short of blood supply, leading to cramps, nausea, diarrhoea and, in some cases, bleeding.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cA lot of [endurance runners] have had GI issues after running. I wondered whether there could be a connection [with colon cancer] if you\u2019re having so much cell turnover from cell death after these long runs?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Oncologist Dr Timothy Cannon says people who have bleeding or a lot of cramping or discomfort after they run should get checked out. Photo: Dr Timothy Cannon\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/88811a08-1141-47b3-b599-cb29250a25aa_b2dc81e2.jpg\" title=\"Oncologist Dr Timothy Cannon says people who have bleeding or a lot of cramping or discomfort after they run should get checked out. Photo: Dr Timothy Cannon\"\/>Oncologist Dr Timothy Cannon says people who have bleeding or a lot of cramping or discomfort after they run should get checked out. Photo: Dr Timothy CannonHow was the connection explored?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After seeing three marathoners with colon cancer in a span of about six months, oncologist Dr Timothy Cannon&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[248747,248755,28405,31246,108471,248758,38443,248756,248759,248751,248752,21739,134,248754,103985,248750,10851,111,139,69,248748,248753,248749,3405,248757,34462],"class_list":["post-497431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-adenomas","tag-amy-oxentenko","tag-bleeding","tag-colon-cancer","tag-colon-cancer-signs","tag-colonoscopies","tag-colonoscopy","tag-dr-timothy-cannon","tag-endurance-running","tag-endurance-running-health-risks","tag-gi-issues","tag-gut-health","tag-health","tag-hypothesis","tag-inova-schar-cancer-institute","tag-marathon-gut-problems","tag-mayo-clinic","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-polyps","tag-precancerous-colon-polyps","tag-runners-ischaemia","tag-stress","tag-ultramarathons","tag-virginia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}