Increased Coronary Artery Plaque Volume Among Male Marathon Runners

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2025/11/09/indiana...

As someone who's run a couple dozen marathons and a few ultras, well, everything in moderation:

> The Copenhagen City Heart Study followed 1,878 runners and 10,158 non-runners for up to 35 years. The runners had an impressive 44% lower risk of mortality during follow-up, with an increase in life expectancy of about six years for both genders. Importantly though, U-shaped curves were apparent for mortality with respect to dose of running, whereby the benefits of running were most significant for those who jogged between 1 to 2.5 hours per week, at a slow to moderate pace, with a frequency of about three times per week. In those runners who were performing higher volume, higher intensity running, the long-term mortality rates were not significantly different from non-runners. In other words, excessive running may have abolished the remarkable improvements in longevity conferred by lower doses of running.

> Strikingly concordant data were seen in a large decades-long observational study of 54,000 Americans. Highly significant mortality reductions were seen in the runners compared to the non-runners, but U-shaped curves again showed that the lowest mortality rates were seen in those running 5 to 20 miles/week, and that the longevity benefits of running completely disappeared with distances greater than 25 to 30 miles/week. Still, the mortality rates in the high mileage runners were similar to but did not exceed those for sedentary individuals.

Yes. And there’s already a growing body of research showing this in those that regularly lift heavy (competitively or otherwise).

TL;DR: Some stress is good. Extreme and repetitive stress is not.