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The winners have crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon, but thousands of other athletes are still running (minus the few hundred who couldn’t make it from Europe due to volcano-induced travel problems).

The debate over whether running marathons is a fine form of exercise or dangerous to your health, however, isn’t likely to stop any time soon; arguing the pros and cons of long-distance running is practically a sport in itself. The Boston Globe takes a look at the “calamities small or large” that can afflict runners during the 26.2-mile event. The story mostly focuses on the less serious problems – muscle cramps, tendinitis, blisters, banged-up toenails – that are a pain, but aren’t going to kill you.

More serious and rare are the problems caused by heat (not a problem in this year’s race, where temperatures were in the 40s), humidity and overdrinking. And there’s much debate about the effects of marathon running on the heart. As the NYT reported last fall, some small studies have shown that a significant chunk of runners show elevated blood levels of troponin, a marker of muscle damage that appears after a heart attack, following a marathon.

But, runners, don’t freak out: that damage seems to fade away after the race. As the lead author of one of the troponin studies told the NYT, the majority of runners are “almost certainly doing [their] heart a favor.” Obviously, though, if you experience cardiac symptoms while racing or doing any other form of exercise, it’s time to wrap it up and get medical help. And if you’re a middle-aged male with risk factors for heart problems, a frank conversation with your doctor before you commit to a marathon is a good idea.

Finally, while the marathon is increasingly popular with even people new to running, the exercise habit is more important than any given race.  As the WSJ reported last fall, marathons are often the fitness equivalent of crash diets, with few participants sticking to the kind of routine that continues over a lifetime.

Image: Getty Images

Read more here: 
Boston Marathon Great for Winners; What About the Rest of Us?