Marathoners know it’s a mental sport - but it turns out their brains might be doing more than helping them power through the pain. A new study found that during extreme endurance efforts like running a 26.2-mile race, the brain may temporarily break down its own insulation to use as an emergency energy source. In plain English? It starts eating itself.
Myelin is a fatty substance that wraps around nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord, much like insulation around an electrical wire. It speeds up and enhances nerve signal transmission, making it vital for everything from motor coordination to sensory processing.During a marathon, runners primarily rely on carbohydrates - broken down into glucose - as their main energy source. But once those stores run dry, the body turns to fat reserves, including, as the study suggests, myelin in the brain.
I ran pretty consistently for 35 years. I did lots of 5K and 10K events. I never did a marathon because I knew that it would be nothing but complete and total body abuse.
ReplyDeleteGood thing marathon runners are too smart to eat eggs.
ReplyDeleteThe first Marathoner dropped dead immediately afterwards.
ReplyDeleteThe Greek warriors who walked home celebrated their victory.
Mark in PA
A 60 year old mate runs long distances, a marathon is just an appetiser. His last big effort was across Australia - about 4500k's. He ran across the US a few years ago (got taken out by a truck and was seriously injured, like not walk again serious, but the metal work holding is hips and legs together haven't dented his love for running) and is planning to run 1000k's non stop around a 400 meter track. He's very smart and seems perfectly normal apart from running 65+k's a day on his big runs. I'll mention this side effect when I next see him.
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