Nutrition is rarely mentioned. Runners tend to be carb (over)loaders. Very bad for the heart. It was a surprise when Jim Fixx died in his early 50s of a heart attack. He wrote the book on running and was on the box of Wheaties. Eating all that cereal probably didn’t help. In the 1980s I remember reading about the eating regimen of marathoners and it was routine advice to eat a loaf of wheat bread per day. Not good.
I don't think the Wheaties do people in. Not that I'm a proponent of processed cereals or refined carbs. Rather, I think the J-shaped association between exercise and its benefits is what does the hardcore people in, be it cardio or otherwise.
It is really a good example of how to lie with statistics and a headline. "The overall, male, and female death rates for the 10-year period were 0.75 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38-1.13), 0.98 (95% CI, 0.48-1.36), and 0.41 (95% CI, 0.21-0.79) deaths per 100,000 finishers, respectively. There was no change in the death rate during this time period for overall, male, or female groups (P = .860, .533, and .238, respectively). The median age among deaths was 41.5 years (interquartile range, 25.5 years). Fifty percent (14/28) of deaths occurred in participants less than 45 years old. Myocardial infarction/atherosclerotic heart disease caused 93% (13/14) of deaths in those 45 years and older. A variety of conditions caused death in younger racers, the most common being cardiac arrest not otherwise specified (21%, n = 3)." Real headline would be: "Study finds barely anyone that finishes a marathon dies but if they do, the median age is 41.5"
Marathon runners are probably risk takers too. After all running that much is not small feat. So it isn't necessary running too much what killed them early. I keep telling you guys there is one key to long life: moderation. Don't run marathons, jog 5 miles (10 miles a week), you will live longer.
Too Much Running Tied to Shorter Life Span https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exerc...running-tied-to-shorter-lifespan-studies-find Again, the J-curve.
I mostly run on the tennis courts. Otherwise I walk, half of the time uphill. Pretty good exercise, I don't even like to go downhill, I do that backward, to preserve the knees.