Heart of the World’s Top Ultramarathon Runner—Not Necessarily Much Different from Normal The effects of ultramarathon runs on the organs of competitors, in particular elite individuals, are barely known. We have tested a 36-year-old ultramarathon runner, 1-2 days thereafter and 10-11 days after winning a 24-hour ultramarathon as part of the Polish Championship (258.228 km). During each test session, we conducted an electrocardiogram, transstthoracic echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, a cardiac 31p magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS) and blood tests. Initially, increased cholesterol and LDL-C levels (low density lipoprotein cholesterol) were identified.On the day after the ultramarathon, increased mirrors were observed on white blood cells, neutrophils, fibrinogen, alaninaminotransferase, aspartatamino transferase, creatine kinase, C-reactive protein and N-terminal type B na-tirical propeptide.In addition, acceptances of hemoglobin, hematocrit, cholesterol, LDL-C and hyponatremia were observed. On day 10, all measurements returned to normal values, and cholesterol and LDL-C returned to their abnormal basic values.Electrocardiogram, transthoracic echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and 31P MRS remained in the standard area and showed a physiological adaptation to the training. The temporary changes in laboratory test results were typical of the extreme efforts of the athlete and mirrored most likely temporary but massive damage to skeletal muscles, liver cell damage, activation of inflammatory processes, impact on the coagulation system, stress-related hyponatemia and cytoprotective or growth regulatory effects.
These results showed that many years of intense endurance training and numerous ultramarathons (including the last 24-hour ultramarathon) had no permanent negative impact on body and heart of this world-class ultramarathon runner. Temporary anomalies after the competition in laboratory test results were typical of those who were usually observed to ultramarathons. The whole work is under https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/10/2/73