The Laughter Cure; Protein for Runners; Compression Socks; Marathoner’s Knees

Perhaps the most disappointing news from the American College of Sports Medicine ( acsm) conference is that watching a half-hour sitcom won’t cure your post-race muscle soreness. The performance-boosting benefits of smiling have been a hot topic since Kenyan marathon star Eliud Kipchoge was spotted deliberately grinning to himself every few minutes during Nike’s Breaking2 marathon last year. A research team in Northern Ireland subsequently published research showing that runners became more efficient, burning two per cent less energy to sustain a given pace, when they were asked to smile. Another study found that simply being exposed to brief glimpses of pictures of smiling faces enhanced endurance compared to frowning faces. However, the power of smiles apparently has limits. Researchers at the University of Austin asked 40 volunteers to watch either a half-hour sitcom or a “boring documentary,” then put them through a pain tolerance test and a tough workout designed to induce muscle damage and subsequent soreness. Sadly, there was no difference in soreness between the groups, and the sitcom didn’t enhance pain tolerance, either. On the plus side, it made them feel happier – an outcome that shouldn’t be underestimated. As former marathon world record holder Wilson Kipsang once put it: “Smiling helps so much. It’s that feeling when you tell yourself, ‘I’m still OK.’”