BACKGROUND: Marathon training and running have many beneficial effects on human health and physical fitness; however, they also pose risks. To date, no comprehensive review regarding both the benefits and risks of marathon running on different organ systems has been published. MAIN BODY: The aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive review of the benefits and risks of marathon training and racing on different organ systems. A predefined search strategy including keywords (e.g., marathon, cardiovascular system, etc.) and free text search was used. Articles covering running regardless of sex, age, performance level, and event type (e.g., road races, mountain marathons) were considered, whereas articles examining only cycling, triathlon, stress-tests or other sports were excluded. In total, we found 1021 articles in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, of which 329 studies were included in this review. Overall, marathon training offers several benefits for different organ systems and reduces all-cause mortality. As such, it improves cardiovascular risk factors, leads to favorable cardiac adaptations, enhances lung function, and improves quality of life in chronic kidney disease patients. It also enhances gastrointestinal mobility and reduces the risk of specific tumors such as colorectal cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. Marathon training enhances bone health and skeletal muscle metabolism. It further positively affects hematopoiesis and cytotoxic abilities of natural killer cells, and may act neuroprotective on a long-term basis. After a marathon, changes in biomarkers suggesting pathological events in certain organ systems such as cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, liver, hematological, immune, musculoskeletal, central nervous, and endocrine systems can often be observed. Mostly, these changes are limited to 1-3 days post-race and usually normalize within a week. Moreover, marathon running poses the risk of serious adverse events such as sudden cardiac death or acute liver failure. Concerning lung function, a decrease after a marathon race was observed. Acute kidney injury, as well as electrolyte imbalances, are relatively common amongst marathon finishers. Many runners complain of gastrointestinal symptoms during or after long-distance running. Many runners suffer from running-related musculoskeletal injuries often impairing performance. A marathon is often accompanied by an acute inflammatory response with transient immunosuppression, making runners susceptible to infections. Also, hormonal alterations such as increased cortisol levels or decreased testosterone levels immediately after a race are observed. Disturbances in sleep patterns are commonly found in marathon runners leading up to or directly after the race. CONCLUSION: All in all, marathon training is generally safe for human health and individual organ systems. Considering the high popularity of marathon running, these findings supply athletes, coaches, sports scientists, and sports medicine practitioners with practical applications. Further large-scale studies examining long-term effects on the cardiovascular, renal, and other system are needed.

• Klíčová slova
• Athletic injury, Endurance training, Exercise overtraining, Sex differences, sports performance,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH

PURPOSE: Tryptophan (TRP) degradation through the kynurenine pathway is responsible for converting 95% of free TRP into kynurenines, which modulate skeletal muscle bioenergetics, immune and central nervous system activity. Therefore, changes in the kynurenines during exercise have been widely studied but not in the context of the effects of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC). In this study, we analyzed the effect of 14-day RIPC training on kynurenines and TRP in runners after running intervals of 20 × 400 m. METHODS: In this study, 27 semi-professional long-distance runners were assigned to two groups: a RIPC group performing 14 days of RIPC training (n = 12), and a placebo group, SHAM (n = 15). Blood was collected for analysis before, immediately after, and at 6 h and 24 h after the run. RESULTS: After the 14-day RIPC/SHAM intervention, post hoc analysis showed a significantly lower concentration of XANA and kynurenic acid to kynurenine ratio (KYNA/KYN) in the RIPC group than in the SHAM group immediately after the running test. Conversely, the decrease in serum TRP levels was higher in the RIPC population. CONCLUSION: RIPC modulates post-exercise changes in XANA and TRP levels, which can affect brain health, yet further research is needed.

• Klíčová slova
• kynurenic acid, limb ischemia, long-distance runner, neuro-protective metabolites, tryptophan, xanthurenic acid,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Exercise-induced inflammation can influence iron metabolism. Conversely, the effects of vitamin D3, which possesses anti-inflammatory properties, on ultramarathon-induced heart damage and changes in iron metabolism have not been investigated. Thirty-five healthy long-distance semi-amateur runners were divided into two groups: one group received 150,000 IU of vitamin D3 24 h prior to a race (n = 16), while the other group received a placebo (n = 19). Serum iron, hepcidin (HPC), ferritin (FER), erythroferrone (ERFE), erythropoietin (EPO), neopterin (NPT), and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) levels were assessed. A considerable effect of ultramarathon running on all examined biochemical markers was observed, with a significant rise in serum levels of ERFE, EPO, HPC, NPT, and cTnT detected immediately post-race, irrespective of the group factor. Vitamin D3 supplementation showed a notable interaction with the UM, specifically in EPO and cTnT, with no other additional changes in the other analysed markers. In addition to the correlation between baseline FER and post-run ERFE, HPC was modified by vitamin D. The ultramarathon significantly influenced the EPO/ERFE/HPC axis; however, a single substantial dose of vitamin D3 had an effect only on EPO, which was associated with the lower heart damage marker cTnT after the run.

• Klíčová slova
• erythroferrone, erythropoietin, ferritin, iron, ultramarathon, vitamin D,
• MeSH
• biologické markery * krev   MeSH
• cholekalciferol * aplikace a dávkování   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• dvojitá slepá metoda MeSH
• erythropoetin krev   aplikace a dávkování   MeSH
• hepcidiny krev   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• maratonský běh * fyziologie   MeSH
• nemoci srdce prevence a kontrola   etiologie   MeSH
• potravní doplňky * MeSH
• troponin T krev   MeSH
• železo * krev   aplikace a dávkování   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• randomizované kontrolované studie MeSH
• Názvy látek
• biologické markery * MeSH
• cholekalciferol * MeSH
• erythropoetin MeSH
• hepcidiny MeSH
• troponin T MeSH
• železo * MeSH