\n\t\t\t\t\tAs research shows high levels of depression among extreme exercisers, one woman says she became resentful as her husband chose his bike over time with her\u00a0\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
Many cyclists and runners believe that intensive exercise is good for their mental health, but a new study disagrees.<\/p>\n
New research has found that one in four<\/a> extreme marathon runners experience worryingly high levels of anxiety and depression as a result of running, or as a form of escapism. Meanwhile, a 2018 study<\/a> found that intensive exercise can take its toll on wellbeing and can particularly harm romantic relationships.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t surprise Katrina Collier, 54, author of The Damage of Words, based in London, whose marriage ended in 2012. Here she gives a glimpse into the breakdown of her marriage and why over-exercising can be a harmful addiction.<\/p>\n Over-exercising<\/a> was definitely a factor in the end of my marriage. We met in Chicago at a mutual friend\u2019s wedding and were married in 2007. Back then, he wasn\u2019t obsessive about fitness at all. He might have commuted by bike, but that was it. He wasn\u2019t spending hours on it like he later would.<\/p>\n New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n However, while we were dating, he would fly over from the UK and visit me in Australia, where I\u2019m from, and at one point, he paid a lot of money to bring his bike over on the plane. Maybe that was a sign.<\/p>\n Another sign came early in our marriage on an ill-advised, crazy cycling holiday.<\/a> I wanted to get into cycling so that we could spend time together. I had this idea that we could cycle to Land\u2019s End in the UK. I had no idea how hilly it was. He was so focused on the cycling that he\u2019d ride way ahead and leave me behind. Sometimes he\u2019d come back for me or wait somewhere, but most of the time I was just alone. That holiday was probably the loneliest I\u2019ve ever been on.<\/p>\n As time went on, cycling became everything to him. He\u2019d do long events and 100-mile rides that lasted all day, and I\u2019d come along just to support him. I\u2019d sit there waiting for him to cycle past, bored and disconnected. He never realised how isolating it was for me. It created a lot of unspoken distance between us.<\/p>\n The marriage was becoming secondary to the exercise. The cycling <\/a>had stopped being a healthy outlet and started becoming an obsession. It was no longer \u201cjust a hobby.\u201d It wasn\u2019t just a Sunday bike ride; it was training all weekend and constantly feeling the need to move, to train, to compete.<\/p>\n We lost quality time, especially at weekends. Everything revolved around his events and training. Even intimacy and physical closeness<\/a> were affected. Over time, resentment grew in me. I\u2019d initially adopted his passion and tried to share it. But it became harder and harder to join in, and my anger built.<\/p>\n I even bought a tandem bike, thinking it could bridge the gap. But he hated it. He\u2019s so competitive that riding slowly, at my pace, felt pointless to him. So the tandem just sat unused in the hallway. It became this silent reminder that we weren\u2019t connecting<\/a>.<\/p>\n These issues got worse when we started spinning classes together. He made a male friend there, and the two of them would then exercise together. This just normalised the behaviour further. He became so obsessed with the cycling classes that he became an instructor. (He still teaches a class, though it\u2019s more strength-based and very scientific, which suits his analytical brain.)<\/p>\n