People who do regular light jogging gain more health than endurance runners, researchers have claimed.
A study in Denmark found that "strenuous" joggers had as high death rates as non-joggers.
Researchers said there might be an "upper limit" for exercise that is optimal for health.
Researchers compared more than a thousand healthy joggers with some 413 healthy non-joggers from Copenhagen over a 12 year period.
Although the study found just 28 deaths among joggers and 128 among non-joggers, the jogging deaths were concentrated on those who put the most effort into the activity.
The findings have been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Researcher Dr Peter Schnohr, of Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen, said: “It is important to emphasise that the pace of the slow joggers corresponds to vigorous exercise and strenuous jogging corresponds to very vigorous exercise.
“When performed for decades, this activity level could pose health risks, especially to the cardiovascular system.”
The British Heart Foundation said the study suggested running Marathons was not needed for heart health.
Maureen Talbot, from the foundation, said: "Light and moderate jogging was found to be more beneficial than being inactive or undertaking strenuous jogging, possibly adding years to your life.
“National guidelines recommend we do 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week. It may sound like a lot, but even brisk walking is good exercise and if you’re bit of a couch potato this is a good place to start.”
Dose of jogging and long-term mortality: The Copenhagen city heart study by Peter Schnohr et al Frederiksberg Hospital. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 3 February 2015 [abstract]
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