Physician at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic created Runner's Science, a study that's researching injuries and body conditions associated with long distance running, The Columbian reports.
Here are six things to know:
1. The study started in 2008 and included runners from The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer, a race hosted by Mayo Clinic. Nearly 10,000 athletes from all 50 states and other countries participated in the marathon and study.
2. Mayo Clinic physicians researched the runners' fluid and food intake along with foot strike and training distance.
3. Researchers found half-marathon runners who ran three days per week during training were at a greater risk for injury during the long-distance race.
4. Additionally, researchers found runners who consume whole food during the marathon tend to have slower paces and runners with slower paces are a greater risk for hyponatremia.
5. Runner's Science is now examining how specific body parts can help determine whether differences in size, shape or thickness make runners predisposed to pain or injury.
6. In 2018, researchers plan to use ultrasound machines to evaluate Achilles tendons to determine if runners who do not have pain in the tendon will develop pain after running long distance races.