Body temperature up

Marathon causes double running fever!

The Linz Danube Marathon(Bild: LinzMarathon 2022)

Whether on foot, on the bike or anywhere else: the longer the race, the higher the athletes' body temperature. This is the case on Sunday at the Upper Austrian running event of the year in Linz over 42.195 kilometers, and not just because of the current April heat!

The symphony of running!"

With this slogan, ORF is advertising the live broadcast of the Linz Danube Marathon on Sunday. Despite the bursting happiness hormones, it is a cacophony for every body. In other words, a particularly hard and unpleasant-sounding noise . . .

Because 42,195 meters are 30,000 to 50,000 steps! Top runners drum 190 of them per minute on the asphalt. That is absolutely hard work for their bodies too. Just how enormous this is is shown by the fact that every marathon doesn't just give you a running fever. The athletes' body temperature also rises. The scientific rule of thumb is: at 50 percent of maximum oxygen consumption, an athlete has a body temperature of around 38 degrees. At around 70 percent oxygen consumption, the temperature is around 38.5 degrees. If a marathon is run at competition pace, the core body temperature physiologically rises to as much as 39 degrees.

Study at the World Cycling Championships
Not only, but of course also, when outside temperatures are as summery as today: In Linz, 18 degrees are expected at the start time at 9.30 a.m., which should then climb to 23 by 12 noon.

In Qatar, the body temperature of the cycling aces climbed up to 41 degrees.(Bild: JACKY NAEGELEN)

These are still relatively pleasant conditions, at least if you compare them with those of the 2016 World Cycling Championships in Qatar. Back then - at 37 degrees and a low humidity of 35 percent - 40 athletes had swallowed thermometer capsules for a study before the competition in order to record the temperature in the body's core - i.e. in the internal organs. The result: 85 percent of the starters reached at least 39 degrees. 25 percent of them reached a temperature of more than 40, the highest value was 41.5 degrees.

Body temperature: 41.5!
Despite this, no athletes were found to have any physical complaints after the World Championship race. That's why you can look forward to the running fever in Linz on Sunday with a relaxed attitude.