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Friday, 19 May 2006 |
 Marathon runners who consume too much water to avoid dehydration should be aware that too much could cause illness. Twenty one runners in the 26-mile, 2000 Houston Marathon developed hyponatraemia. This is a condition caused by too much water in the bloodstream and inadequate excretion of fluid in the urine, resulting in a dramatic decrease in the sodium concentration in the blood. Symptoms include dizziness, weakness, confusion, fatigue and in extreme cases, coma. 14 of the runners in the study required hospitalisation, and death is possible.
Dr Jon Divine of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare Organisation in Texas presented the results of the study earlier in 2001. He found that the longer it took runners to complete the marathon, the more likely they were to develop hyponatraemia. This was particularly prevalent in slower marathon runners who took more than four hours and 20 minutes to finish the race. Medical director of the New York City Marathon, Dr Lewis Maharam has noted that in the past marathon runners were more experienced. Whereas today many runners are novices, testing their fitness and supporting a particular charity. They are likely to drink more water, more frequently, because they are conscious of avoiding dehydration. Maraham suggests that runners only drink water when they feel they need it, and only about two cups each hour. He also advises that runners eat salty foods before a race. Source: Joint Annual Meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine, Texas. 2001 |
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