Personality of marathon runners: a narrative review of recent findings.

Participation in marathons has dramatically increased over the last few years. Marathon running has many proven beneficial effects, especially on cardiovascular health and fitness. Most research has focused on physiologic and pathophysiologic adaptations in connection with endurance exercise. Nevertheless, marathon running also has a major impact on psychological aspects and positively influences mental health, which has only recently attracted research interest. The present narrative review aimed to review the personality traits of marathon runners with an emphasis on recent literature. Marathon runners show a distinct personality and highly characteristic personality traits needed to successfully finish such a demanding race, i.e., a strong sense of vigor, self-sufficiency, and intelligence as well as low scores in anger, fatigue, tension, and depression. Furthermore, personality differences are detectable between runners of different sexes, ages, and performance level groups. This has significant clinical implications for athletes, coaches and competition organizers, as these groups show different patterns of personality traits. Future studies should focus on changes in cognition and mood states pre-, during, and post-endurance events, as well as during training periods. Large-scale studies comparing personality differences by sex, age, and performance are also important for better clinical guidance. See also the graphical abstract(Fig. 1).

[Skiing Accident with Temporary Tetraparesis]. / Skisturz mit temporärer Tetraparese.

Skiing Accident with Temporary Tetraparesis Abstract. Summary: We present the case of a 74-year-old patient who initially suffered transient tetraplegia after a skiing accident. On presentation to the general practitioner, pyramidal tract signs as well as disturbances of fine motor function in both hands could be observed. MRI examinations of the cervical spine revealed high-grade spinal stenosis at level C5 with myelon compression. Surgical decompression of the spial cord, followed by fusion of the corresponding cervical vertebral bodies, was performed. After surgery and three weeks of neurological rehabilitation, the patient feels well and has recovered except for still existing hypesthesia of the fingertips.