The world's fastest long-distance runner said yesterday he will not compete in the marathon at the Beijing Olympic Games because of the city's choking air pollution, a move that is prompting runners of all levels to reassess the net health benefits of going for a jog in the smog.
"The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42 kilometres in my current condition," Haile Gebrselassie, the 34-year-old Ethiopian who many enthusiasts call the best distance runner of all time, told Reuters.
Mr. Gebrselassie, who has exercise-induced asthma, said he still intends to run the 10,000-metre race. He is the world record holder in the marathon. The withdrawal of such a marquee athlete from such a marquee event dredges up troubling questions for both Beijing Olympics officials and the running community at large.
For Beijing, officials must scramble to convince other athletes that its air pollution - which has been reported to exceed World Health Organization recommended limits by as much as five times - will not adversely affect their health. And for runners of all stripes, the question is broader:
If even the great Mr. Gebrselassie is worried about smog, should the rest of the running community be paying closer attention to the air they breathe so deeply?
Canadian Olympic officials have been monitoring the air in Beijing for some time and have persuaded athletes to stay away from the city until three or four days before their events to avoid the build up of particulate in their lungs.
Much of the Canadian team will spend the weeks ahead of the Olympic Games in Singapore, a city with much cleaner air whose heat and humidity closely resemble Beijing.
"We have to be careful," said Martin Goulet, chief high performance officer for Athletics Canada. "Our approach is to stay away from Beijing for as long as possible."
U.S. coaches are advising their athletes to wear dust masks as soon as they arrive in Beijing.
But for those recreational runners who don't have the option of retreating to Singapore or living behind a mask, Mr. Gebrselassie's decision will at least be cause for a wide reassessment of whether the health risks of running during high smog outweigh the benefits.
"There's definitely a smog problem in Toronto," said Paul Poce, coach to many of Canada's top distance runners. "Some nights running along the lakeshore, you smell it and even taste it."
Several cities across Canada have established air quality indexes that warn runners against exerting themselves when particulate counts are high, typically during the summer months.
Runners are particularly at risk because heavy breathing filters more particulate-laden air through the respiratory system and tends to lodge it more deeply. Toronto had 336 smog-free days last year compared with Beijing's 246.
"When you're breathing in during a smog day, your airways become extra-sensitive," said Ken Maybee, chairman of air lung issues for the Canadian Lung Association. "They can become inflamed inside and fill up with mucous."
Particularly harmful are airborne volatile organic compounds and particulate matter about 2.5 micrograms in size, roughly one-eighth the size of a human hair.
"Those are the ones that really penetrate the lungs and cause the problems," Mr. Maybee said, especially for the one in five Canadians who suffer from some sort of respiratory disease.
During a 2006 marathon in Hong Kong, 22 runners were taken to hospital for ailments associated with abnormally thick smog in the territory.
Still, Mr. Poce says that air pollution in Canada hasn't reached the point where the average runner should avoid beating the pavement. "The body and the lungs have an amazing capacity to flush things out," he said. "A lot of people are a little frightened, but I don't think it's as bad as they're saying."
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