{"id":770763,"date":"2026-05-03T16:37:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T16:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/770763\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T16:37:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T16:37:24","slug":"ability-to-compete-in-ultra-endurance-events-determined-at-birth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/770763\/","title":{"rendered":"Ability to compete in ultra-endurance events determined at birth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your adult race destiny may be determined at birth.<\/p>\n

Ultra-endurance events have surged in popularity, with more than 150,000 North Americans<\/a> racing ultramarathons (a distance longer than the standard 26.2-mile marathon) last year.<\/p>\n

And while these hardcore events can prematurely age<\/a> vital parts of the body, one factor may shape how the body responds to extreme endurance exercise long before adulthood.<\/p>\n

\"AA biological limit that surfaces in ultra-endurance events may be determined long before adulthood at birth. Michael Nigro for NY Post<\/p>\n

Scientists believe humans were made to run long distances<\/a>, citing evolution during the hunter-gatherer days.<\/p>\n

However, endurance events place a large amount of strain on the kidneys, which could negatively affect their filtration system and lead to cellular damage.<\/p>\n

A study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution<\/a>\u00a0has now found a potential link between birth weight and kidney health in ultramarathon athletes.<\/p>\n

As birth weight is a known risk factor for disease later in life, the research found it could also play a role in kidney resilience under extreme physical conditions.<\/p>\n

44 ultramarathon athletes underwent blood testing to measure kidney function and potential damage before and after their races.<\/p>\n

The ideal birth weight for minimal damage? 8 pounds.<\/p>\n

\"AA birth weight of 8 pounds is linked to potentially less kidney damage as an adult after finishing ultra-endurance events. Oksana Kuzmina \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

This weight was most likely to reduce the chances of acute kidney injury, a temporary reduction in kidney function.<\/p>\n

Those who weighed less or more at birth could have a greater risk of kidney stress or damage during extreme endurance races, as organ development was likely impaired during growth in the uterus.<\/p>\n

During exercise, blood flow is redirected to the muscles and less to the kidneys, which, over time, lose the ability to filter waste and excess fluid from the blood.<\/p>\n

These current findings, as well as previous research, seem to indicate that ultra-endurance events may be doing more harm than good for the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur study asks the question whether there is such a thing as \u2018too much\u2019 exercise, and how early-life biological factors may shape the body\u2019s response to extreme physical demands,\u201d study lead and University of Victoria biological anthropologist Alison Murray said in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Previous studies<\/a> have shown that ultramarathoners experience a breakdown of normal red blood cells during races, which can lead to anemia and other issues.<\/p>\n

This is most likely due to the blood cells becoming less flexible after a long race, a crucial step as they need to bend to pass through tiny vessels and transport oxygen, nutrients and waste throughout the body.<\/p>\n

Runners\u2019 red blood cells showed both molecular and physical damage, from the pressure of blood surging through the body during exercise, inflammation and oxidative stress, or low levels of antioxidants.<\/p>\n

Another study also found that extreme endurance efforts cause the brain to temporarily break down its own insulation to use as an emergency energy source.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your adult race destiny may be determined at birth. Ultra-endurance events have surged in popularity, with more than…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":770764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,27440,91055,1198,210,26417,30906,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,1236,16978,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-770763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-athletes","tag-birth","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-kidney","tag-marathons","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-running","tag-study-says","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116511627699861792","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=770763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}