From the Baltimore Sun…
Marathon running is not more dangerous than other sports, studies show
Hopkins' doctor recommends two heart tests before taking up long-distance running
October 14, 2010|By Kevin Van Valkenburg, The Baltimore Sun
The human body is a fragile instrument, and when it shuts down — as it does, tragically, for thousands of athletes each year — there is nothing that can be done. It often doesn't matter if trained medical personnel are nearby, or that the athlete was in peak physical condition.
But the death of a marathon runner grabs our attention in a unique way. When it happens — and it happens every year — media attention follows. There are often questions about whether the human heart was made to hold up to the strain of running 26.2 miles, or suggestions that marathons on days when the temperature is unexpectedly warm be postponed.
When 23-year-old Princeton graduate Peter Curtin died last year while running the Baltimore Marathon, it was the second death in the 9-year history of the event, which has had at least 2,100 participants per year in its main race since it was founded. In 2001, the first year the race was run, a 29-year-old female died of a brain aneurysm.
Read on here.
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