Air pollution causes irreversible damage to the lungs and we must clearly remember this before running or encouraging someone else to run
Traditionally, winter months in the national Capital are a time for runs and half-marathons. Recently 40,633 people ran the 15th Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) around the Lodhi area. The route is very pleasant, with flat, wide roads, good gradient and lush greens meandering around Delhi’s very own Central Park, Lodhi Garden, and perfect temperature. However, the Air Quality Index (AQI) near Lodhi Road recently hovered around the 150-200 mark, which is defined as “unhealthy.” The hourly particulate matter (PM) 2.5 readings were between 145 to 220 ug/m3, about five times the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) safe limit. Given the poor air quality, it is high time that all runs and half-marathons in Delhi are held between July and September, when the air quality is better. For the last three years, the monitors at the Lodhi Road station consistently measured PM2.5 concentrations above 150-200 on race day.
To better understand the adverse effects of air pollution on participants, let’s consider the biology and physiology of a runner. For a 5 km run, a person will have to rehearse about 10-15 times over two to three months. More for 10 km, half-marathons and full marathons. Running is a cardiac sport, which means during and after the run, the heart activity of the athlete increases significantly. Lungs get pumped up, breathing gets faster, blood circulation quickens, air intake is greater and pollution exposure is higher. An athlete running at 70 per cent of maximal oxygen uptake (roughly equivalent to easy running pace) for about three hours inhales the same volume of air as a sedentary person would over two days.
Most of the respiratory system is lined with hair and mucus to trap small particles of pollution and dust. You can witness these bodily safeguard mechanisms in the thick cough that develops in the highly-polluted winter months. The body produces more mucus to line more of the trachea and bronchi in an attempt to save the air sacs. The alveoli are tiny delicate air sacs lined with a thin layer of cells, where the exchange of oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gases between air and blood happens. Most of the typical pollutants like sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and PM can pass through these thin alveoli walls, enter the bloodstream and wreak havoc by triggering various unwanted physiological and chemical reactions in the body. But even before that, the huge amounts of PM 2.5 and PM 10 aka tiny microscopic dust particles, that do not get trapped by brave mucus and hair and do not pass into the bloodstream, settle into the air sacs, thereby reducing lung capacity. Much of this damage is irreversible because you cannot practically vacuum-clean the clogged alveoli anymore. The famous pictures of the transition of pink lungs to black lungs in the case of smokers or Delhi residents happens due to this clogging of dust in the air sacs in our lungs. Even in day-to-day life, Delhi residents of all ages, gender, and socio-economic status lose their lung capacity to dust.
With pumped-up performance and heartbeats, marathon runners lose much more. Now, athletes, lead trainers, celebrities and brand sponsors need to think and discuss the merits of losing lung capacity and gaining medals.
Recently, researchers found black carbon particles on the fetal side of the placenta, indicating the pollution exposure from the mother’s womb to unborn babies. This pollution exposure in the womb and early years of a child’s life lead to stunted growth, compromised lung capacity, higher probabilities of asthma and other respiratory diseases, and an inferior lifetime health quality. In a recent case, a 28-year-old non-smoking woman was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer from exposure to air pollution in her residence in a highly-polluted area of Delhi near several landfill sites.
With clear news, data and unanimous medical verdict, it makes one wonder why the matter continues to fall on the deaf ears of marathon organisers, brand sponsors and athletes. Why do the well-educated, high-income athletes forget about biology and continue to run and lead others to run?
In each one of our runs, we must remember that a whole generation of people watches us and finds inspiration, which often starts as an imitation. It is our responsibility to lead the younger generation to the right path and if nothing, at least not mislead them. Air pollution causes irreversible damage to our lungs and we must clearly remember this before running or encouraging someone else to run. While Governments and civil societies are actively working on solutions to curb air pollution and attain healthy air quality in the city, it is the responsibility of athletes and organisers to take a reality check. From speaking out against running in polluted air to moving the dates of the races to July-August, various alternatives exist. It is simply time to stop brushing the issue under the carpet and taking some sensible measures to ensure that the health of runners doesn’t suffer in the long marathon of life.
(The writer is an environmental entrepreneur)