Training / running in smog - should I even run?

March 29, 2006 4:27 AM

Training / running in smog - should I even run?

I live in a housing area, where I run a few times a week to train for the occasional 10k's and half marathons. Problem is, the most convenient area to run is actually following the main roads where there are lots of cars. Naturally, when running, I'd inhale a lot of fumes from cars and bikes.

Question is: How detrimental is it to my health? Can I expect lung cancer in the future? Are the chances higher as compared to if I was a smoker? Am I actually better off not running in the first place?

Assume that I don't have an alternative place to run, and stationary machines are out of the question.

posted by arrowhead to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

I would say that running a few times a week, next to some cars, is not going to be nearly as detrimental to your health as directly inhaling poisonous chemicals several times a day as a smoker.

Having said that, I really don't think there's an answer to the rest of your question, which seems to be hypothetical. I would say that running a few times a week, even with lots of traffic around (note: you can always run in non-rush-hour times... I don't know of very many roads that are ALWAYS completely full of cars), would definitely be healthier than sitting on your couch eating Cheetos every day of the week.
posted by antifuse at 5:14 AM on March 29, 2006

would an anti pollution mask help or would it hinder breathing too much?
posted by muthecow at 6:01 AM on March 29, 2006

I generally give polluted urban areas the taste test... if I am standing (or running) there thinking 'ugh, this sucks, I feel like I'm licking rusted metal' I generally spend as little time there as possible. But I don't have any numbers or anything.

You are, obviously, breathing in and out a very large volume of air throughout a run, so you'll be inhaling a lot of pollutants. Pretending that you only have a choice between sitting very still inside, or running down a smoggy boulevard... I think I'd look into muthecow's mask link. I'm pretty sure I've seen them in North America too, so perhaps you could go to a cycling or sports shop and find them in your area if you're not in Europe, to avoid the wait.

I really can't stand the feeling of breathing bad air, and I think the best arbiter for these sorts of things is the human body — if it feels like I shouldn't be breathing it, I probably shouldn't. Your sense of doubt in the question seems to indicate that you probably should not be running there if you can help it.
posted by blacklite at 6:48 AM on March 29, 2006

this has been discussed before, fwiw - i remember answering - you might find useful info by searching back.
posted by andrew cooke at 7:01 AM on March 29, 2006

To avoid smog you have to run at times when traffic isn't at peak and hasn't peaked in a while. I spent several years running in arguably the worst air quality in the nation (Riverside, CA -- mid 1990s before Houston took the crown). We would run between 6 and 7am, when traffic was low, NO_x and ozone levels from the previous day had subsided, and the morning commute smog hadn't picked up yet. Running after work was not an option due to the contaminant levels built up during the day.
posted by mathowie at 8:08 AM on March 29, 2006

here's the previous thread.
posted by andrew cooke at 9:45 AM on March 29, 2006

How about running indoors on a treadmill?
posted by markmillard at 5:33 PM on March 29, 2006

markmillard: take a second look at the very last line in the question:

Assume that I don't have an alternative place to run, and stationary machines are out of the question.
posted by antifuse at 5:24 AM on March 30, 2006