Scott Montain and Matthew R. Ely, researchers at the United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Mass., analyzed real-world data from seven major marathons, comparing performances over years when temperatures and humidity varied but the race course remained the same. Heat affected slower runners more, probably because they were on the course longer and ran in packs. Warm bodies close together make it harder for one’s body heat to dissipate.
An elite runner capable of finishing in less than two and a half hours on a cool day (41 to 50 degrees) would be 2.5 percent slower in warmer climes (68 to 77 degrees.) A three-hour marathoner on a cool day would be slowed by 12 percent in the heat, the researchers reported.
they also talk about how cooling off by splashing yourself with cold water is actually bad to do because your body only cools when the sweat is evaporating, not from having water droplets on your skin. i'm not sure if i agree with this though - when running the hamptons marathon last year, at every other water station i would douse myself with a cup of cold water. it felt like it was helping shock-cool my core temperature. i'll look into this a bit more.
read the rest of the article.
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