Re: mitral valve prolapse can kill you

[Guest guest]

I didn't see a smiley face but I will assume you are making a morbid joke.I suspect one could draw other anecdotal associations like having too much sex could kill you, based on people dying in that act, or perhaps too much sleep can kill you since a lot more people die in their sleep. I was in a race several years ago where a runner died but they didn't cancel that race. In that race the runner had a undiagnosed birth defect, and it chose to pop during that race. I suspect the stress of racing was the threshold event but not the cause.I was concerned when they had the (summer) olympics in Atlanta, as I had run on that marathon course in Nov and it was bad enough. Atlanta is generally hotter and more humid in July/Aug than Chicago in Oct, but IIRC no souls were lost.Inexperienced runners and perhaps experienced one too, will often push themselves harder than they should in competition. Runners should educate themselves to some symptoms of overdoing it. If you're hot but not sweating you may have a problem. If your field of vision narrows, stop immediately and sit down where you are. Don't be a hero.  I have been jogging longer than some of you folks reading this have been walking, and boy are my legs tired... :-) (that was a joke). I won't  presume to advise others to run. Do whatever floats your boat. I too find marathons a bit excessive, but mainly because of the time it takes to train properly for them. So if it feels good to you, do it.JRPS: http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-chicagomarathon,0,5687812.story?track=rss   On Oct 8, 2007, at 4:59 PM, citpeks wrote:http://news./s/ap/20071008/ap_on_sp_ot/run_chicago_marathonChicago Marathon:The 35-year-old Schieber, from Midland, Mich., was pronounced deadshortly before 1 p.m. Sunday at a hospital.Several other people collapsed, and at least two remained in criticalcondition Monday, as record heat and smothering humidity forced raceorganizers to shut down the course midway through the event. At least49 people were taken to hospitals, while another 250 were treatedonsite, many for heat-related ailments. Chicago Fire Departmentofficials said they used 30 ambulances from area suburbs.Army 10-mile race:Also Sunday, an unidentified runner died during the Army Ten-Milerrace in Arlington, Va., near the finish line at the Pentagon. Therunner collapsed about 200 yards from the finish line.