Great goal. But realize that level of exercise impairs our immune system
measurably.

I.P.

Meant for Dave...sorry I.P.
Two words...Lance Armstrong! Go for it. But do make sure every other
bodily system is up for this very rugged challenge though, like your
cardio-pulmonary system for one. Did you get an EKG recently?

B.A.

I run every day, only for mine own happiness.  I'm 63 and had the RP in
Dec 02.  

Dalej

Go for it, great goal, make sure you prepare well and you will reap the
benefits.

I've been running for just over a year and have never felt better
(never run in my life before) and lost 10kg. I will be doing a half this
year (July - Gold Coast) and a full marathon - who knows?  Currently
running about 40 km a week, rest a couple of days a week.

Listen to your body, get a decent training program (plenty available on
the net), take it easy at first, build up to it.  If you've never run
"distances" before then set some smaller goals before tackling the big
one. Don't rush it, you want to be around to enjoy the experience.  Do
some fun runs, 5km, 10km, a half, first.  Join a running club, talk to
others that have done it.

Run to live, live to run!  If the goal is right for you then success is
inevitable, it's only the timing that is variable.

Good luck.
Dave
Dec 03 Age 51, PSA 10.8
Jan 04 Dx PCa T2a Gleason 5
Mar 04 RRP, post op path good, all contained
May 04 cystoscopy & BNI now pi**ing like racehorse
PSA June 04 < 0.01
PSA Nov 04 < 0.01
PSA Feb 05 < 0.01
PSA May 05 < 0.01
PSA Sept 05 < 0.01
PSA Dec 05 < 0.01

I used to be a competitive runner for my age.  I ran two marathons and
numerous shorter distance races.  But I developed various back and hip
problems, some possibly related to the running, so I had to stop.  I
don't think I was more vlunerable to infections during this time.   I
now bicycle two to three times a week for up to two hours at a time, and
I try to walk the rest of the time.   My back acts up if I up the
intensity, but I try to do the best I can at age 72.

I've never seen any studies which suggest that runners are more
vlunerable to cancer than non-runners, but I'm hardly an expert.   If
you take a long time to build up your mileage and do enough long (20+
miles) training runs before it, my guess--and it is only that---is that
it shouldn't be too stressful to run a marathon with no time goals in
mind, just to finish.  But to obtain a good time might be very
stressful.  It could take a week or two to recover, but I don't know if
you would be vlunerable to disease during that time.   The most obvious
adverse health effects of marathon training would send you to an
orthopedic surgeon rather than a cancer specialist.

Of course, running, or any extensive aerobic training, will help keep
your weight and blood pressure down and help develop collateral
circulation, so you would be more likely to survive a heart attack were
you to have one.  Similarly, you are less likely to experience side
effects of surgery and other aggressive medical procedures.  But of
course, the amount of training necessary to do a marathon is two or
three times what would be adequate for health benefits.

A triathalon always seemed crazy to me because of the amount of training
necessary.

I ran several times a week for many years, and did a lot
of cycling too.  Now, my heels won't take hard runs any
more, and my knees get cranky after either a hard run or
a stiff uphill bike ride.

So now I mostly use an elliptical trainer for aerobic exercise.
I like it because it's very low impact - really no more than
bicycling, it seems to be less stressful on the knees than
either running or cycling, and it gives some upper body
workout at the same time.  Finally, I can read a book while
I use the machine.

   Alan

I gave up running about 15 years ago due to knee issues and have been
an avid cyclist and inline speed skater ever since.  I do around 100 -
150 miles on the bike, and another 15 - 25 miles on the skates, per
week in the warm months (x-c, downhill skiing + ice speedskating in
the winter).

Last fall I did a marathon on the skates in Ottawa Canada and did well
in my age group (50+), finishing in 1 hour 31 minutes.  I plan to do
two this season.  Skating is approximately half or a tad less  the
effort of running:  the world record marathon time for skating is
about 58 minutes, just under half the record for running.

With skating and cycling, you get most or all of the physical benefits
of running with none of the bone and joint problems.  

Can't say I can think of ANY detriment from all this activity.  It
keeps me happy and occupied and if I were you, I would go for it
without any hesitation.  You are a PCa survivor, not an invalid.  The
only thing different about you than any other man your age is that you
leak and can't get it up :-)  So put your energies into other "manly"
pursuits, and kick some butt on the road...