The Investigation of the Effects and Illness Prevention of 1100-Km Tour De Taiwan Ultra-Marathon Race

Ultra-marathons have become more and more popular in Taiwan and all over the world. In 2005, there was only one ultra-marathon race in Taiwan annually. In 2015, ultra-marathon races rapidly increased in Taiwan to 164 ultra-marathon races annually. Excessive fluid consumption during endurance-exercise results in exercise-associated hyponatraemia (EAH). However, insufficient fluid supplement results in dehydration and/or hypernatremia. Both EAH and dehydration may affect runner performance and are important causes of morbidity and mortality in endurance runners. Common medical illnesses during endurance running include dehydration, hyponatremia, heat stroke, muscle cramps, heat exhaustion, rhabdomyolysis, hematuria, ketonuria, proteinuria, acute kidney injury(AKI),, gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss, GI symptoms, acute kidney injury, edema lymphocytopenia, syncope etc., Strenuous exercise also leads to increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which causes damages of DNA, lipid, protein, even in skeletal muscle, the liver and the heart. These tissue injuries could trigger inflammatory response. Though leg edema is a common presentation in the ultramarathon runners, there is no study discuss the etiology and prevention in the literatures. We plan to study the runners in 1100-km Tour De Taiwan Ultra-marathon Race which will be the most vigorous activity in Taiwan. For each subject, we will measure runner’s parameters including blood (including total protein, albumin, renal function test, electrolytes, aldosterone), urine etc. prior to, 1 week after starting, and immediately after the race. diameter of legs and body weight will also be obtained twice a day during the race. In this study we plan to investigate the etiology of runners’ edema and to know how to prevent the edema.