Have Alberto Salazar's health problems been the result of the 1982 Boston Marathon?

Question

From what I've heard Salazar only had two cups of water during that whole marathon. He eventually stopped sweating during the race and became severely dehydrated before finishing seconds ahead of Dick Beardsley for the victory. It seemed like his body never really recovered. In the months and years following the race he had immune system problems, his running greatly deteriorated, and he was never really the same runner again. And just recently he even had a heart attack.
Was this one race the source of all his problems ? After all it WAS a very grueling race, even for a marathon. Or were there also other factors leading up to it that eventually ended the career of arguably the greatest runner of his time ?
I'm curious to know your opinions.

Answer 1

I don't think this one race was the cause of his medical problems.
It may have been a part of the on set of the problems or it might have just been the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

He did run some ultra races after wards, but I doubt that his current health problems are being caused by this one race.

I do think that running too many marathons, too often causes the early end of careers.

Answer 2

I wasn't aware of Alberto's health problems, but I remember seeing part of the race on TV. The commentators kept gushing about his passing up the water stops. And Alberto was one of the great "shufflers". Whereas many runners have long strides and great rearward kicks, Alberto was just a consistent shuffler and quite easy to watch.