Running Ultramarathons May Tucker You Out, Study Warns
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Runners who regularly compete in ultramarathons risk being tuckered out, researchers say, citing the results of a years-long study.
“No physical activity is without risk, and ultra running is no exception,” said Lillian Von Shtupp, Ph.D., lead author of the study. “These findings suggest that one risk involved in running ultras is a very real possibility of getting tuckered out.”
“That’s not a reason to avoid ultras,” Von Shtupp said. “But it’s something to take into account, if you’re a runner who’s considering such an event.”
The study, published this week in “The New England Journal of Exhaustion,” followed nearly 2,000 runners over three years; half ran distances up to and including the marathon, or 26.2 miles, while the rest regularly ran ultramarathon distances, defined as anything longer than a marathon.
During that time, subjects recorded miles run as well as how they felt, physically and mentally, after each run. At the conclusion of the study, researchers reviewed the data and saw a clear pattern.
“Those runners who ran 30, 50, or 100 miles at a time reported feeling tuckered out at a rate of nearly 80%,” said Von Shtupp. “Of those, as many as half were plumb tuckered out.”
“Which, obviously, is a very serious level of tuckerage.”
Von Shtupp stressed that the findings, while alarming, were preliminary, requiring further study—and that the effects of being tuckered out were temporary.
“Virtually all of the tuckered-out subjects felt better within a few days,” she said. “Usually after sawing some logs or getting 40 winks.”
The findings echo those of a similar study published last year in the “British Medical Journal,” which linked ultras with an 85% increase in runners feeling knackered.
