How Rhabdo Ruined My Race - What Every Marathoner Should Know About Rhabdomyolysis

I was in the best shape of my life . . . and I almost died. 

It didn't matter that I had been an athlete my entire life, or ran an average of 3-5 times per week for the 20 years before the day I raced my third NYC Marathon. 

Nobody ever told me about the risk of rhabdomyolysis, and if you're a runner, chances are you have never heard of it either.  Rhabdomyolysis, or rhabdo for short, is a condition that occurs when skeletal muscle breaks down and the muscle fiber contents travel through the bloodstream to the kidneys.  However, instead of these contents being filtered, they block the structures of the kidneys and shut them down.

Exertional rhabdomyolysis is well documented, and classic cases have been diagnosed in marathoners and military personnel that have gone through basic training and other rigorous conditioning programs.  Rhabdo doesn't discriminate either.  It can strike those that are well conditioned in addition to those that are not.

If it happens to you, there is a chance you will be misdiagnosed as having a stomach virus.  I can say this because it happened to me.  I lived for 10 days without any kidney function.  I had acute renal failure.  The mortality rate at the creatinine level I had upon entering the hospital is only 50%.  I am lucky to have survived.  It was extremely fortunate that my kidneys responded to treatment and I didn't require dialysis. 

I am not aware of any major marathon race organizer that educates its participants about rhabdo.  Now it's my job to educate runners about this potentially fatal disorder that could strike without warning at any time.  If you plan on running a marathon, or are simply planning some long training runs, I encourage you to read my blog.