Marathon with cystic fibrosis and bilateral lung transplant

The article presents studies performed before, during and after a marathon run (42,195 m) in a 32-year-old man who underwent a bilateral lung transplantation because of end-stage cystic fibrosis (CF) 15 months prior to the race. Before the run his FEV1 was 81% predicted, compared with 19% predicted before the operation, and his maximal oxygen uptake was 31.9 ml/kg(-1)/min(-1). He completed the New York City Marathon 1998 without major problems in 7 h 8 min 50s. Pulmonary tests, biochemical changes and endocrine responses indicated transient changes, mostly as expected in healthy marathon runners. The case demonstrates that physiological trainability and psychological will power following a successful bilateral lung transplantation can transform a chronically ill CF patient into a robust marathon runner.