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Article: Differences in muscle pain and plasma creatine kinase activity after 'up' and 'down' Comrades marathons.(ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE)(Report)
- Article from:
- South African Journal of Sports Medicine
- Article date:
- August 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 South African Medical Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Introduction
The Comrades marathon is a 90 km ultramarathon race, run annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. However, the start and finish of the race alternate each year, and the race is therefore run in different directions. In the 'up' run the race starts at sea level in Durban, and runners ascend to the finish in Pietermaritzburg, at 650 m above sea level. The highest point in the race is 870 m above sea level. In the 'down' run, the race starts in Pietermaritzburg, and runners descend to the finish in Durban. (11)
Marathon and ultramarathon races impose severe physiological stresses on runners. (6,17) Previous studies on ...