Running a 26.2-mile marathon puts your body through hell. Even with the proper training, marathoners stagger across the finish line with ravaged joints and shredded muscles — not to mention chafing in embarrassing places.
A recent study looked at the kidneys of marathon runners before and shortly after they finished a run and found evidence consistent with acute kidney injuries. The drastic steps our bodies take to keep our legs moving over distances results in a flood of chemicals into our bloodstreams, which can overload internal organs already hamstrung by ongoing strenuous activity. It’s not just our kidneys either: dangerously low sodium levels, bloody urine and compromised immune systems are only some of the side effects of a lengthy run.
The good news, however, is that we seem to bounce back quickly — the marathoners looked at as part of the kidney study were back to normal within a few ...
