Getting a lung full
A marathon task
With the London Marathon coming up this Sunday, we thought we'd look at how air pollution can affect runners. We're lucky enough to have a nearby park but still find ourselves pounding the streets from time to time, not to mention the commute by bike.
So we were wondering, is there a safe amount of air pollution for exercise? Is there a tipping point where you could be doing more damage with exercise than the direct health benefits? And what can we do about it?
As set out in the Marathon Handbook, when we run, the amount of air we breathe increases six-fold. So if the air quality is low, that times more pollutants could be entering your lungs and bloodstream. Nonetheless, exercise is so important to our health and wellbeing that exercising in low to moderate levels of air pollution is still a good thing on balance. While we are not giving health advice here, it's clear that extra care should be taken if you are particularly sensitive to air pollution, such as with asthma or heart/lung diseases.
Pro tips
What tips do running groups offer to mitigate impact? Some talk about running indoors - while this might be good for days of extremely bad air pollution (and if you can afford the equipment), we are not too keen on this given the additional wellbeing from being outside, especially in green spaces. The other tips relate to reducing exposure. Like we mentioned in our blog on children and air quality, you can choose quieter routes and run as far away from traffic as you can. If your daily routine allows it, you could check air quality data and choose times of the day where pollution is lower. And if you are really on top of your training regime, you could save your fastest sprints (where you'll be taking in the most - dirty - air) for when you can find the cleanest space on your route.
We applaud all the marathon runners who won't be able to follow any of these tips on Sunday but will at least be running through a central London that's been cleared of traffic!
Peak fitness
We also wondered: a lot has been made of the benefits of high-altitude training particularly for athletes from Ethiopia and Kenya (and we'll be looking out for the front of the elite pack on Sunday where all the top women and men are from those countries!) - but has any research been done on whether lower levels of some pollutants in those locations also helps?
Sadly when Louise lived in Ethiopia she only ever got to run in the somewhat polluted hills on the edge of Addis Ababa but did enjoy the altitude challenge!