Page 165 - Biobehavioral Resilence to Stress

142 Biobehavioral Resilience to Stress

in resisting invasion by the Persian Empire.* Modern day marathoners also
sometimes push themselves beyond safe limits (Maron & Horvath, 1978).
After winning the Boston marathon in 1982, Alberto Salazar slipped into

unconsciousness due to extreme dehydration and heat exhaustion; it was
determined that during competitive runs, Salazar’s sweat rates approached
an astounding 4 L/h (Armstrong, Hubbard, Jones & Daniels, 1986). Such
highly motivated individuals often push themselves beyond physiologically

tolerable heat and dehydration limits while training for the demands of
performance in sports, the military, public safety, and emergency services.
How is it possible to achieve or sustain extraordinary performance under
extreme conditions? David Costill, who has made a lifetime study of predic-
tors of distance running performance, concluded at a national meeting of
the American College of Sports Medicine in 2001 that ultimately the winners
in any group of elite performers are determined by psychological factors.
Simply put, individuals who distinguish themselves are those who have the

greatest confidence in their own capabilities and a genuine belief that they

“are the best.” These athletes and performers have in common their com-
mitment to a single-minded purpose (e.g., quest for “the race that will break

me”) and self-confidence (Morgan & Costill, 1972, 1996).
Similar examples have been recorded involving mountaineers who
push themselves to the limits of hypoxia. In 1978, Reinhold Messner and

Peter Habeler became the first team of individuals to summit Mount Ever-

est without the benefit of supplemental oxygen. This achievement was

an incredible feat of individual psychological and physical resilience. At
the summit of Mount Everest, maximal oxygen uptake is reduced to less
than one-fourth of that at sea level. Physiologist John West estimates that
if Mount Everest were even just a few meters higher, or if Messner and
Habeler had encountered weather conditions with reduced barometric
pressure, their achievement would not have been possible (West, 1989).
The climbers collapsed repeatedly in the snow, moving at a rate of only

1 m/min as they approached the summit. Their success can only be attrib-

uted to the combined positive influence of genetics, training, and intense

psychological motivation. Recounting the experience, Messner described a
feeling of apathy (common at high altitude) mixed with defi ance (Messner,
1979). This latter response is consistent with the winning attitude of elite

runners.

* Phidippides ran a 280-mile course over rugged terrain from Athens to Sparta and back
again, requesting support for the impending Battle of Marathon. After returning from
this extraordinary run, Phidippides then marched and fought in battle, wearing heavy
armor. Finally, he ran back to Athens (26 miles) to deliver news of victory. Shortly there-
after, Phidippides died of exhaustion.

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