AUTHOR=Kelly Melani R. , Emerson Dawn M. , McDermott Brendon P. , Atkins Whitley C. , Butts Cory L. , Laursen R. Mark , Troyanos Christopher , Duckett Andrew , Siedlik Jacob 

TITLE=Gastrointestinal cell injury and perceived symptoms after running the Boston Marathon

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1268306

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2023.1268306

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=Gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances are a prevalent cause of marathon related complaints, and in extreme cases can promote life-threatening conditions such as exertional heat stroke. Our aim was to study intestinal cell injury (via intestinal fatty acid binding protein [I-FABP]) and perceived GI distress symptoms among marathon runners. We also examined potential risk factors (e.g., inadequate sleep) that could exacerbate GI disturbances in healthy, trained endurance runners. This was a parallel mixedmethods study design. 2019 Boston Marathon participants were recruited via email and subjects completed surveys before the race describing demographics and training history. Participants