\n Runners compete in the New York Marathon in New York City on November 3, 2024. New research suggests that marathon runners may deplete a fatty substance in their brain called myelin.
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Photo by DAVID DEE DELGADO\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Photo by DAVID DEE DELGADO\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/span>\n<\/div>\n Runners compete in the New York Marathon in New York City on November 3, 2024. New research suggests that marathon runners may deplete a fatty substance in their brain called myelin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo by DAVID DEE DELGADO\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Running an entire marathon takes a lot <\/em>of energy. Neuroscientist Carlos Matute knows this: he’s run 18 of them. He wondered how runners’ bodies get the energy they need to make it to the finish line. <\/p>\n His new research in the journal Nature Metabolism<\/em> may be the first step in answering the question \u2013 and suggests their brains might be (temporarily) depleting a fatty substance that coats nerve cells called myelin. <\/p>\n Myelin makes up about 40% of the brain. It helps electrical signals travel around. After scanning the brains of 10 marathon runners, Matute and his team saw that myelin decreased in areas important for things like motor coordination \u2013 how we move our bodies \u2013 and sensory and emotional integration. <\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2025\/04\/03\/4.04.25-ep-89827894d460a6f5fe5881ebfc25109990a6bea2.jpg?s=2600&c=100&f=jpeg\")
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