It should come as no surprise that long distance running can have great benefits for your health, but a new study shines a light on just how important getting that first marathon under your belt can be for your heart, especially if you’re getting up there in age.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, working towards finishing that first marathon can have great health benefits to your cardiovascular health. More specifically, training for a long distance run can help to reduce arterial stiffening, which is one of the key predictors of cardiovascular events.
First Time Marathon Running Study
Starting the journey to finish your first marathon can seem like a daunting task, but if you give yourself enough time and work at your own pace, you can do it just like the 138 people in the study. None of the participants had ever completed a marathon in the past, and they all said that they were running a maximum of two hours a week prior to the study.
Each runner was advised to follow the marathon Beginner’s Training Plan put forth by organizers of the London Marathon, which each runner would eventually complete. This plan consisted of about three runs every week for 17 weeks leading up to the race. Each participant had their blood pressure and aortic stiffness measured prior to their training regimen, and they were again tested between one and three weeks after the marathon.
When researchers compared the measurements from before and after the race, they found that both blood pressure and aortic stiffness had reduced in the first-time marathon runners. Moreover, the changes in aortic stiffness equated to a four-year decrease in vascular age. The results were most notable in older male runners who had higher blood pressure at the outset, even though they were not running at a very fast speed.
Dr. Charlotte H. Manisty, senior author on the study who works at the Institute of Cardiovascular Science at University College London and Barts Heart Centre in London, United Kingdom, said it’s never too late to improve our heart health.
“Our study shows it is possible to reverse the consequences of aging on our blood vessels with real-world exercise in just 6 months,” said Dr. Manisty. “These benefits were observed in overall healthy individuals across a broad age range and their marathon times are suggestive of achievable exercise training in novice participants. [The study shows] the importance of lifestyle modifications to slow the risks associated with aging, especially as it appears to never be too late as evidenced by our older, slower runners.”
While the running certainly helped, study authors also said that participants noted that they also worked to improve their diets and sleeping habits while training for the marathon, and these changes also likely helped to improve cardiovascular health.