Comments on: Training: what is the impact of smoking on runners?

By: mark

mark — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:41:51 +0000

i have run seven marathons and smoke.dont smoke before training just after to be honest it does not affect me i am 40 .times are the same smoking and not smoking lol.you need some enjoyment in life and have no interest in stopping.marines paras etc smoke so why not me??? if you get out there and train hard you will be dam fit so dont worry.

By: Jmec70

Jmec70 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:01:02 +0000

Oh I forgot to mention that I have been smoking a pack of smokes a day for that last 24 years.

By: Jmec70

Jmec70 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:58:09 +0000

I am almost 40 years old. I am often told that I look 26. On occasion still get carded when I buy beer. I run about 40 to 60 miles a week. The last marathon I ran was in 3 hrs and 47 minutes about a month ago. The average time to finish a marathon is about 4.5 hrs.I also drink a six pack of beer every night. Im just as addicted to running as I am smoking and drinking. However I have a diet that consists mostly of fish and vegetables> I rarely drink anything but water and beer. I binge on candy and soda every once in a while. I know that quitting smoking and drinking as much as I do would improve my performance, but have yet to do so. Plus I lived in Colorado from 2005 until 2009 and still managed good times. I m now in Europe running. So I don’t know what the real effects are as far as health is concerned. With running it’s about determination and endurance and pushing yourself to the limits.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:45:10 +0000

Wow, i really enjoyed reading this thread. I too smoke ciggs (pack a day), weed (every day) and drink (most every night). 3 years ago I was getting real fat. I started walking, walking turned to running and now I am about 40 pounds lighter. Throughout the whole process I smoke and drank. Before every run I take a few tokes. I really feel something is wrong with me, but its hard to complain when I lost 40 pounds and feel great. I am 46 so I have no desire to run fast. I do however have a desire to run further. I run about 140 to 170 miles a month. Honestly, i feel like if I had to give up toking before a run, I might not run at all. Lets say I couldn’t quit…is running and doing everything I do worse for me? Am I accelerating my demise by continuing on this path?

By: Holly

Holly — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 12:57:57 +0000

How’d you do in your marathon? I am running one in 3 mths – I hate the cigg habit but have long wondered if there were others out there like me. Reading this strand has been somewhat comforting! Yesterday I ran 15 in high humidity & for first time ever had breathing problems (not sore, no muscle problems) – it was not fun. Had to stop & walk. Am wondering if it’s the smoking. I smoke 1x per week, a social smoker, about 10.

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:02:53 +0000

I read an article in High Times about 14 years ago that stated that, if you smoke a cigarette within 15 minutes of smoking marajuana, your lungs bleed. After reading that, I stopped smoking cigaraettes within 15 minutes of smoking marajuana and my smokers cough went away.

By: todd

todd — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:47:18 +0000

my parents have an oxygen sensor that you place on your finger. if you really want to see the immediate effects, you should buy one. i think i might buy my own.

By: suzie

suzie — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:47:26 +0000

I am also a secret smoker who runs, I have smoked around 5/6 cigarettes a day for almost 20 years (Im 41 now) Ive cut down recently to 2 a day but also smoke weed – about 3 joints a day. Im running a half marathon in 5 days and am smoking while typing this. Ive run 6 marathons in 2 yrs and countless halfs and 10ks in the same time. Ive only been running 3 yrs and my best marathon time was 4.30, best half 2.01 and best 10k 54.5. I have joined a club and do a speed session once a week – do a longish run myself (10-12 miles) and a few 3-6 miles here and there. Id love to improve on my times but feel the smoking holds me back (as my legs are fine but lungs are burning). I do enjoy a smoke and struggle to give up – especially the weed. Id love to run a 4hr marathon & a sub 2 half – has anyone any advice? My lungs do burn at the speed sessions and Im usually wrecked afterwards

By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:02:15 +0000

Well I don’t smoke cigarettes but I smoke about 2 joints a day and drink heavily about 3 days out of the week. (I’m 22 and run about 20 mi a week at a 6min pace) Our bodies weren’t designed to breath smoke and while it is most definitely damaging to the body it is helpful for the mind to relax. I smoke after my runs for that reason and also to get my appetite up. Drinking on the other hand has me a little confused…the days after I drink heavily I have a stronger drive and I’m able to push myself harder. I suppose it could be all in my head but I would love to hear some feedback from other runners.

By: sean

sean — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:44:44 +0000

I run 4-7 miles a day either outdoors or on a track as well as smoke between a quarter to three quarters of a pack a day and it doesn’t really affect my performance (although i wont have one within an hour of going). There have been times when I’ve gone a day or two without one before a run and noticed that I had a better oxygen intake, HOWEVER the boost in respiration made me tend to overexert myself from the get-go and threw off my pacing substantially and as a result and I felt as if I was overdosing on oxygen and wore myself out quicker. Not smoking within roughly 24 hours of a run for me feels like going from training at a higher altitude in thinner air to running through a swamp in 100% humidity. And if you think about it, up until recently in history, every human being (including any soldier, athlete, etc you can think of) spent their whole life inhaling a ton of smoke from either wood-burning or coal-burning stoves (as primary heat sources) as well as substantial extraneous air pollution due to lack of regulations and of course tobacco smoke. Smoking has only grown out of taste in the past 3-4 decades due to the surfacing of obvious health risks (which I fully acknowledge but don’t want to get into), so anyone who ever physically exerted themselves prior to the past lets say 30-40 years was probably doing so with a lot more wear and tear on their lungs and you didn’t hear about how the guys in WWII (who were smoking gov. issued filterless lucky strikes in excess of a pack a day) panting as they faught due to tobacco smoke, or how the legendary spartans had to take a breather every 10 minutes because they had been inhaling wood smoke as well as dirt and anything else you can think of every day since the day they were born. So if you wanna smoke and run, go ahead and smoke and run. Although I’d stick to non-menthol lights and keep it around or under a half-pack a day.