OMAHA (KMTV) — Running is all about pushing limits and seeing what your body can do, but sometimes that has to get put on hold.
Over the weekend at the Hy-Vee Half Marathon Series in Downtown Omaha hundreds of runners crossed the finish line for 5K, 10K and 13.1 miles.
- PERSONAL CONNECTION: Sports reporter Kelsey Mannix was training for the half marathon for months, then tested positive for COVID-19 more than a week before the race.
- A doctor recommended not to run the half marathon the following weekend because returning to major exercise too soon runs the risk of developing myocarditis (heart inflammation).
- POSITIVE NOTE: Downtown Omaha reporter Molly Hudson (who Kelsey was training with) completed her first half marathon!
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“Nothing feels better than crossing that finish line,” Amy Shadle, who ran the half marathon, said. “The accomplishment... I'm getting a little emotional! The friendships, it just adds more life to your life.”
You all may not know this, but I’m also a runner. I love competing against myself. In fact, I was training for this very half marathon; it would have been my second.
But then more than a week before the race, I tested positive for COVID.
And I learned it’s not safe to return to major training too soon after recovering because COVID and other viruses can put more than just your respiratory system at risk.
“Adenoviruses, enteroviruses, coxsackievirus, influenza virus, these are all things that can cause flu-like illness, respiratory tract disease,” Dr. Mark Rupp, Chief and Professor of Infectious Diseases at Nebraska Medical Center, said, “and for any of those, they can cause myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart. And if you get out and if you get out and stress your heart, it can actually result in very substantial and serious conditions and damage to your heart.
“So it’s best to give yourself a little bit of time off. Be good to yourself, listen to your body and then come back gradually.”
I wasn’t about to take that chance.
What’s more: I was training with Molly Hudson and it was her first time running a half marathon.
“It was really hard around mile 10 probably, but up until then it felt really good,” she said. “I have like this little itch now to do another one, so we'll see when we get to that point. Hopefully soon so I don't have to restart the training.
“I'll have to talk to you about when we're signing up for another one since we were supposed to do this one together.”
So even though things didn’t go as planned on my end, it’s probably better to sit out one race for the love of competition than have long-term issues.
I hope this is helpful if you’re ever in a similar situation, and hey, maybe I’ll see you at a race in the next couple of months!
