Mao Daqing: Did Zhang Xuefeng "collapse" from overexertion? Don't let running be blamed for "overwork"!

Stock trading is about looking at research reports from JIN QILIN analysts—authoritative, professional, timely, and comprehensive. Help you uncover promising themes and opportunities!

Source: Qingqingge and the outdoors

When you see Zhang Xuefeng’s message, the unintended death of any person is truly heartbreaking, but what matters even more than the grief is this—only after something happens do we remember to listen to what our bodies are saying.

Once the news came out, many people’s first reaction was, “Running again caused trouble.” But what took him away probably wasn’t those few kilometers—it may have been the countless nights he didn’t sleep well beforehand.

Now I only want to discuss a few questions with everyone:

Between “overwork” and “exercise,” the red line we often ignore.

In fact, every time a public figure experiences a health crisis related to running, public opinion always tends to point the finger at running itself. This is unfair—and also irrational. Years ago, after my classmate from the same cohort, the excellent alumni of Southeast University and a deputy chairman of the Supervisory Board at Huawei, Mr. Ding Yun, passed away due to a sudden illness, it triggered a similar discussion.

At the time, I also wrote an article titled “Sudden death from long-distance running—those tragedy triggers that have nothing to do with long-distance running,” expressing similar views—people are always eager to find a simple explanation for tragedy, but they ignore the real issue is never in the activity itself. It lies in whether the person exercising truly understands their body, whether they fear for life and treat their health well.

Today, we don’t talk about emotions—we only talk about science.

🔥 The red line we often ignore between “overwork” and “exercise”

In the medical and sports science communities, research on this issue has long been very thorough.

The simple and direct answer is—

This viewpoint is not entirely accurate; it confuses the boundary between “physiological adaptation” and “pathological injury.”

1． Cardiac hypertrophy: is it an “engine upgrade” or a “water pump failure”?

For people who have done long-term endurance training such as marathons, the heart does undergo structural changes, which in medicine is called “athlete’s heart.”

Physiological cardiac hypertrophy (benign): Long-term running requires the heart to pump more blood. To adapt to this demand, the myocardium of the left ventricle will thicken, and the volume of the heart chambers will also increase. It’s like muscles getting bigger after working out—this is a benign thickening that reflects enhanced function. For the vast majority of runners who train scientifically, the increase in heart size is a healthy physiological adaptation.

Pathological cardiac hypertrophy (dangerous): This is caused by hypertension or heart disease. Although the myocardium thickens, it comes with fibrosis. The heart becomes stiff, and the pumping efficiency actually drops.

Risk point: In very rare cases, excessive extreme training (far beyond normal marathon intensity) may lead to fibrotic changes in the cardiac interstitium, increasing the risk of arrhythmias. But for the vast majority of runners who train scientifically, this risk is far lower than people imagine.

2． Arterial hardening: is exercise the “killer” of blood vessels or a “cleaner”?

This is a highly controversial topic. The key lies in “vascular calcification.”

Common misconception: Some studies have found that the coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores of seasoned high-intensity marathon runners are higher than those of non-exercisers.

The truth is: Plaque stability. In runners, vascular calcification often presents as “hard plaques,” which are relatively stable and less likely to rupture, leading to myocardial infarction. In contrast, most plaques in people who don’t exercise are “soft plaques,” which are far more prone to rupture and can cause acute incidents. Vascular elasticity: Regular marathon training can significantly improve vascular endothelial function and increase vascular elasticity.

Moderation principle: The curve between exercise and cardiovascular health is “U-shaped” or “J-shaped.” Complete inactivity is harmful, and excessive overload also increases risk. For most people, it hasn’t reached the level of “excess” yet—the benefits to blood vessels far outweigh the harms.

💡 Scientific exercise upgrades the heart—not “damages” it; the benefits for most runners are far greater than the risks

First, we need to make one core conclusion clear: running itself is not the culprit behind sudden death. It’s the combination of improper exercise with underlying conditions that is the key trigger for sudden death.

0.54–0.6 cases per 100k marathon events: incidence of cardiac arrest

Only 0.2 per 100k: about 1 in 500k mortality rate

0.44–1.54 per 100k: the sudden death rate in domestic marathon events is basically consistent with international data.

📊 Data source:

A study published in 2025 in the international top medical journal JAMA, covering 29.31 million marathon and half-marathon finishers

As a comparison, in China, the annual incidence of cardiac sudden death in the general population is about 40 per 100k, which is nearly 70 times the risk in marathon events.

Even more noteworthy, authoritative research confirms that long-term regular running can reduce cardiovascular mortality by 20%–40%. The overall risk of sudden death in people who exercise regularly is far lower than in people who are sedentary for long periods—whereas the sudden death risk in the sedentary group is more than 5 times that of the former.

As for running’s higher share of cases of exercise-related sudden death (around 34%), the core reason is that running is one of the sports with the highest number of participants in China—not that running itself is inherently higher risk.

🏃♂️ The risk of sudden death in people who run regularly is < one-fifth that of sedentary people; exercise is the “guardian” of the heart, not the “death god”

Exercise has never been more than the “spark” that triggers sudden death. The root cause is that the body has underlying diseases or health risks that were never discovered. In all cases of exercise-related sudden death, more than 80% of the causes are heart-related.

For people under 35, the number one trigger of exercise-related sudden death includes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, congenital coronary artery malformations, and inherited or congenital abnormal heart structures such as cardiac ion channel diseases. These issues may have no symptoms in daily life, and even a routine physical exam may be hard to detect. Once the person does strenuous exercise, it may trigger malignant arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation, leading to cardiac arrest.

For people over 35, the main cause of exercise-related sudden death is coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (coronary heart disease). During strenuous exercise, heart rate and blood pressure rise sharply, and the heart’s oxygen demand surges dramatically—this can lead to the rupture of coronary plaque and trigger an acute myocardial infarction.

In addition, uncommon but fatal triggers of sudden death from running include explosive myocarditis caused by forced running after a cold, severe heat stroke, serious electrolyte disorders, and even intracerebral hemorrhage induced by exercise in patients with hypertension.

Especially important to remind everyone: you must check the indicator homocysteine. If it is higher than 15, you must bring it down to below 10; otherwise, there will be a risk of stroke (sudden death). Especially for people with hypertension, high blood lipids, and diabetes, you must take it seriously!

🩺 Homocysteine > 15 → must be lowered to below 10! High-risk warning for people with hypertension / high blood lipids / diabetes

Based on clinical cases and authoritative research, the following three categories of situations will significantly increase the risk of sudden death during running:

The first category is underlying diseases and high-risk medical history. People who have a history of hypertension, diabetes, high blood lipids, coronary heart disease, or cardiomyopathy, or those with a family history of sudden death, belong to a high-risk group for exercise-related sudden death. Before exercising, they must undergo a professional cardiac assessment.

The second category is high-risk exercise behaviors—also the “landmines” that most ordinary people are most likely to step on:

▪️ Lack of a training foundation, suddenly doing high-intensity, long-distance running—for example, not exercising regularly and then directly challenging a half marathon or full marathon

▪️ Blindly rushing pace and increasing weekly mileage. If the weekly mileage increase exceeds 10%, the risk of injury and sudden death will rise significantly

▪️ Running forcefully after staying up late, drinking heavily, being excessively fatigued, or catching a cold and having a fever

▪️ Not warming up and starting right away. During exercise, if you experience discomfort such as chest tightness, palpitations, dizziness, etc., and you still push through instead of stopping

The third category is factors related to people and the environment: the incidence of cardiac arrest in men’s marathon events is about 6 times that of women; 6–10 a.m. is the physiological peak of sudden death of cardiac origin—when exercise is added at this time, the risk will be further amplified; running in extremely hot and humid conditions, or in cold and freezing weather, will also significantly increase cardiac load and the risk of sudden death.

⚡ Running forcefully after staying up late / drinking heavily / a cold = “suicide-style” exercise; weekly mileage increase > 10% = risk skyrockets

Based on years of observation, the following groups have extremely high exercise risks. I won’t say much to persuade them, because they probably won’t listen:

* 1． People who are overly obese, not taking it seriously 　　* 2． People who especially like smoking and drinking 　　* 3． People who like staying up late to binge shows, play games, and order takeout 　　* 4． People who don’t train and just sign up for competitions 　　* 5． People who blindly follow trends to train interval runs 　　* 6． People who don’t respect life, always talking nonsense 　　* 7． People who are emotionally agitated and hysterical 　　* 8． People carrying pressure and responsibilities, refusing to back down

Exercise is a good medicine, not a poison. If you do these three things, you can maximize the ability to avoid the risk of sudden death from running.

✅ 1． First do screening to rule out hidden risks

High-risk groups such as men over 40, women over 50, or those with hypertension, diabetes, high blood lipids, or a family medical history. Before running, it is recommended to complete ECG and echocardiography tests; if necessary, do cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) to accurately assess the heart’s exercise tolerance.

If symptoms occur regularly in daily life—chest tightness, chest pain, palpitations, or shortness of breath after activity—stop exercising immediately and seek medical care.

🏃♀️ 2． Run scientifically and reject “suicide-style exercise”

Beginners should start with a combination of brisk walking + slow jogging. The weekly increase in running volume should not exceed 10%. Prioritize controlling heart rate; for healthy people, the recommended safe heart rate is (220 - age) × (60% to 80%);

Don’t blindly rush your pace

Do a 5 to 10 minute dynamic warm-up before exercise

After a cold, staying up late, or drinking heavily, absolutely do not run

🆘 3． Make emergency preparations and hold onto the final life-saving window

Try to run with others to avoid running alone for long periods in remote areas. Learn in advance where AEDs (automated external defibrillators) are located and how to use them. The golden window for resuscitation after cardiac arrest is only 4–6 minutes. Timely CPR plus AED defibrillation is the only effective way to save a life.

🚨 Golden 4 minutes · AED + CPR is the only chance to live; run with others, and respect the last line of defense that fears for life

Whenever a public figure faces dangerous health issues related to running, the public will keep pushing the blame onto running. This is unfair and irrational.

The truly dangerous factor has never been running itself—it’s people who don’t understand their own physical capabilities, don’t treat their bodies well, and don’t take healthy schedules seriously.

Running is a mirror: it reflects a person’s long-term lifestyle, their health management ability, and how much they respect life.

The meaning of exercise is to protect health, not to challenge the limits of the body.

Respect your body, follow science, and do what you can—this is what exercise should look like.

May the departed rest in peace. May every person who runs be able to return home safely.

		Sina Statement: This message is reposted from a Sina partner media source. Sina.com publishes this article for the purpose of sharing more information, and does not mean that Sina agrees with its viewpoints or confirms the descriptions. The content of the article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors act at their own risk.

A huge amount of information and precise insights are available on the Sina Finance APP

Responsible editor: Gao Jia