what an ultra does....

I have great admiration for ultra runners.  I follow a number of them via twitter and facebook and each year get excited when the West Highland Way Race is happening.   Still, I am not convinced that they are healthy!

Extensive inflammatory cell infiltration in human skeletal muscle in response to an ultra-endurance exercise bout in experienced athletes.

In conclusion, a low-intensity but very prolonged single endurance exercise bout can generate a strong inflammatory cell infiltration in skeletal muscle of well-trained experienced ultra-endurance athletes, and the amplitude of the local reaction is not proportional to the systemic inflammatory response.