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Running a marathon is hard.

So how can we run them sustainably, especially as we age?

It's the whole package that you've got to do in order to keep your running going well into your later decades.

It's Tuesday, November 5th, and today is Science Friday.

I'm SciFri producer Dee Peter Schmidt.

Last Sunday, more than 55,000 people completed the New York City Marathon. Running 26.2 miles, or over 42 kilometers,

is a titanic physical feat, and it can put a lot of stress on the body. But people who love to run,

love to run, and want to keep doing it for as long as they can. Here's guest host Rachel

Feltman with more about

the science of running long distances. Joining me to give us some answers is my guest. Dr. Brandy

Waite, Director of Sports Medicine at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, California. Welcome to Science

Friday. Thanks, Rachel. I'm so happy to be here. Before we get into some of the awesome questions

we got from our listeners, let's talk about your qualifications. It's my understanding that you've

worked with a lot of marathoners over the years. Oh, yes. I love my running patients. So I've been

a medical director for the California International Marathon for 10 years. And during that time, plus the 10 years prior to that, I've been a medical director for the California International Marathon for 10 years. And during that time,

plus the 10 years prior to that, I've worked with an ultramarathon running company that puts on

ultramarathon races around the world called Racing the Planet. And so since 2005, I've been working

with a lot of distance marathon, ultramarathon runners.

I've worked with USA track and field.

So my running patients are near and dear to my heart.

I love helping them reach their goals.

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