For health benefits, run a marathon: Study

THE New Year means it's time to set resolutions for 2020 and new research suggests running a marathon for the first time could have several health benefits.

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The study found that for first-time marathon runners, training and completion of the marathon was associated with reductions in blood pressure and aortic stiffening in healthy participants that were equivalent to a four-year reduction in vascular age, with the greatest benefits seen in older, slower male marathon runners with higher baseline blood pressure.

The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. "As clinicians are meeting with patients in the new year, making a goal-oriented exercise training recommendation such as signing up for a marathon or fun-run may be a good motivator for our patients to keep active," said senior author Charlotte H. Manisty, MD, of the Institute of Cardiovascular Science at University College London and Barts Heart Centre in London.