First-time marathoners cut vascular age by four years

Even if you support regular physical activities among your constituents, you may hesitate to encourage embarking on a first-time marathon, or to embark on one yourself. But a new study shows that for first-time marathon runners, training and completion of the marathon was associated with reductions in blood pressure and aortic stiffening that were equivalent to a four-year reduction in vascular age, with the greatest benefits seen in older, slower male marathon runners with higher baseline blood pressure.