In his 10 years as medical director of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, George Chiampas has seen plenty. Even people running marathons in full mascot costumes.
And while he says his job requires him to be worried for a race, common sense on the part of runners would give him some peace of mind.
“If they haven’t prepared for that, then you shouldn’t be doing it,” said Chiampas, who also serves as a team physician for the Blackhawks. “You need to run the race the way you prepared. That would be my message. I don’t think I’ve seen people running along the lake in a chicken costume training for the marathon. So if you have that plan and it happens to be a warm day, that may not be the best day to do that, so that would be my message.”
Chiampas offered his insight and advice for anyone taking on the challenge Oct. 9—or any day, for that matter.
From a scientific standpoint, three things are happening to your body when you run for 26.2 miles.
1. “Their body takes on a significant mechanical load throughout their bones and their muscles. Pounding their feet across the pavement, all those forces through their knees, through their leg bones, etc.”
2. “There’s an energy depletion from both a food and carbohydrates and protein [standpoint], and obviously from dehydration.”
3. “There’s a buildup of heat and energy. So you’re building energy and then you’re losing energy as far as eating-wise.”
“I think what a runner is trying to do is balance energy lost, energy gained and trying to get through any of the pains and soreness from the mechanical forces.”
Understand that there are factors beyond your control.
“First and foremost, we want them to recognize the type of day that it is. You can plan almost everything leading up to your marathon except the race day. You can’t predict the temperatures, you can’t predict the conditions. You can do almost everything else, how you’re going to eat, how you’re going to hydrate. You can put all those things in place. If it’s a day that’s outside your norm and outside your comfort level, then you need to run that way.
Listen to your body.
“While they’re running, if they feel something’s different from their training runs—whether it be a pain that is unusual or persistent, if it’s any sort of chest pain or shortness of breath, if there’s any sensation of heat illness, nausea, vomiting—they should probably back off, slow their pace down and get checked by one of our medical professionals along the course.”
Life gets in the way, but you can still complete the marathon if you’re smart about it.
“If you’re someone who hasn’t put in the training, for various reasons, whether it be life changes or life responsibilities, you just had a baby, just got married or have a new job, we know these things happen. Understand the commitment that you put into your training and run that kind of race. Whether you have to walk more or stop a little bit, we obviously want everyone to complete the race, but complete it safely. So those runners need to take a little bit of a more cautious approach and a more realistic approach that is in line with their training.”
Pat yourself on the back …
“You need to celebrate your accomplishment. Everyone talks about getting nutrition in you and all that, but I think first and foremost you have to celebrate what you just accomplished. It’s not an easy task to put in all these months of training and to complete 26.2 miles. Find your loved ones, find that place that allows you to celebrate what you just accomplished, whatever that may be.”
… then work on recovering.
“And then obviously you’ve got to start taking care of your body again so you can move forward with the next event or the next phase of your life. Start replenishing some of those energy losses, starting with protein, all the muscle breakdown that you’ve just incurred. You want to start building those muscles back. You want to start replenishing your fluid intake both from an electrolyte as well as water content, and then you want to start thinking about ways you can physically recover, whether it be ice tubs, foam rollers, a massage the day after.
“Having a plan post-event is as criticial. You’ve been on a clock, on a schedule. Take the recovery week and put some of those things in there.”
@redeyesportschi | chsosa@redeyechicago.com