It's 9 p.m. and Melissa McCoy has had a long day. She puts on her tennis shoes, meets up with a friend and runs for more than an hour. At this moment, McCoy isn't training for anything. She just needs to clear her head and pounding the pavement in the quiet dark helps.
(Running at night) is more peaceful G? Less people are out and you can G? go without running into anyone
said McCoy, a sophomore English major. McCoy began running when she was in fifth grade and currently runs half marathons.
There are countless reasons for why people run, said Jeff Lynn, an assistant professor of exercise science at Slippery Rock University, who has done extensive research on ultramarathon runners.
Like McCoy, some Ohio University students run to escape the pressures of school.
Running is addictive ' it reduces stress and makes you feel good, said Andrea Maas, a fifth-year education major and member of the OU track team.
Also, it's a sport where you can set personal goals and compete against yourself, she added. Others run for the feeling of empowerment.
It gives me a really good sense of accomplishment and makes me feel strong and tough said Jamie Mathes, a sophomore psychology major, who completed the Athens marathon last Sunday.
Greg Jones, instructor of the Ping Center running workshop and OU graduate student, agreed.
To be in the final stretch of 26.2 miles and have a huge crowd cheering makes it seem like anything is possible and the training and focus worthwhile, Jones said. He has run three full marathons and will be running Athens' first ultramarathon on May 31.
Mathes and Jones are two of hundreds of thousands of people to take on a marathon ' a challenge that has become increasingly more popular in recent years.
More than 382,000 people finished a marathon in 2005 ' an 83,000-person increase since 2000, according to marathonguide.com.
Last Sunday, a record number of 786 runners participated in Athens' 41st annual marathon and 18th annual half-marathon.
Part of the reason for the increase could be that the nature of the marathon has changed.
The marathon used to be a race for elite runners. Now, for many people, running the 26.2 miles is about achieving a moment of self-actualization by finishing and overcoming the challenge, Lynn said.
Once a person has done this, they might move on to the ultramarathon, which can be anywhere from 31 to more than 100 miles.
The Athens ultramarathon takes place in May, which is the height of marathon season. The 50-mile race will consist of multiple 10.4-mile loops around Athens. It will be run by Jones and two other OU students to raise money for child obesity awareness.
The event will have limited participants, because of the increased liability that comes with running that distance, Jones said.
Physiologically speaking, the ultramarathon is vastly different from the marathon, Lynn said.
The ultramarathon presents a much greater psychological and physiological challenge and requires the runner to pay attention to their caloric and water intake ' something that is less essential when running shorter distances, Lynn said.
After completing an ultramarathon, a person will probably exhibit temporary loss in flexibility, fatigue, muscle cramping and dizziness, Lynn said.
However, the runner would most likely not suffer a permanent injury, he added.
(There is) a mythology that distance runners have bone and joint problemsG? actually many runners have fewer (joint) problems than people who don't run he said.
Instead, most race-related injuries are relatively minor.
After running a long distance, a person might have blisters or lose a toenail, Lynn said, adding that with ultra-marathoners toenail loss is so common that some have them permanently removed.
It is during training that a serious injury is more likely to occur, he said.
Some people are built differently or push themselves too fast, which can result in any number of injuries, including stress fractures and overstretched or strained tendons, Lynn said.
Some distance runners at OU have become injured as a result of overtraining.
Maas suffered a stress fracture in her femur this past winter that she thinks was from quickly upping her running to 75 miles a week.
(After that) I didn't run a step for six weeks
she said.
Jones too acquired an overuse injury and had to take two weeks off after developing severe shin splints.Some injuries happen out of chance.
McCoy sprained her ankle nine times in the course of a year when running cross-country in high school.
I have really weak ankles and we were running on trails and it made it worse
McCoy said.
McCoy's multiple rolled ankles are not uncommon.
Runners take more steps than non-runners
oftentimes on uneven terrain
which results in an increased chance of stepping wrong and rolling an ankle
Lynn said.
For most dedicated runners though
the benefits of running outweigh any risks.
It's an addiction, and I love it, Jones said.
,",17,Archives,Nikki Naab-Levy,200804107604midsize.jpeg,Ohio University sophomore Jamie Mathes has been running for two and a half years. She ran the Athens marathon on Sunday
April 6
with a time of 4:41. Mathes plans to run the Flying Pig Marathon on May 4 in Cincinnati.,[i]The Post[/i] looks at why some OU students run extensive distances
