Pokes28
Well-Known Member
Weight and running is an odd thing. I've noticed that when looking at runners that it kind of goes like this:
5K - can look like anything as people who can barely walk will participate
10K - probably the fittest looking bunch
Half marathon - Pretty lean and fit but you will still see some extra pounds on people
Full marathon - looks like 5K other than the massively obese don't participate
Ultras - All lean and mean but there just aren't many willing to run 31+
This always strikes me as odd why the full runners don't look more fit than the 10K and half. But then when I've been full on training for a full, there reaches a point where I inhale food. My body thinks it is under attack due to the training level and I actually start to gain weight. If that happens to me, I guarantee it is worse for pretty much everybody else. I have a friend that ran her first half and by that point had lost 50 pounds by getting into shape and running. By the time she did her next race which was a full, she had put 20 back on. She could run, but she no longer looked like a runner. After that, she went back to 10Ks and halfs and dropped the weight again.
For me, I've always been lean. Over the winter I'll put on a few pounds even with my training schedule, but when I really start to put on the miles in the Spring and Summer I'll drop down from 185ish to 175. At 6'2" and being decently muscular particularly in my legs, I have to watch myself because I simply don't have fat. That seems to impact my ability to properly keep hydrated so I'll cramp. When I did a half Ironman two years ago it was a constant struggle with hydration and nutrition.
5K - can look like anything as people who can barely walk will participate
10K - probably the fittest looking bunch
Half marathon - Pretty lean and fit but you will still see some extra pounds on people
Full marathon - looks like 5K other than the massively obese don't participate
Ultras - All lean and mean but there just aren't many willing to run 31+
This always strikes me as odd why the full runners don't look more fit than the 10K and half. But then when I've been full on training for a full, there reaches a point where I inhale food. My body thinks it is under attack due to the training level and I actually start to gain weight. If that happens to me, I guarantee it is worse for pretty much everybody else. I have a friend that ran her first half and by that point had lost 50 pounds by getting into shape and running. By the time she did her next race which was a full, she had put 20 back on. She could run, but she no longer looked like a runner. After that, she went back to 10Ks and halfs and dropped the weight again.
For me, I've always been lean. Over the winter I'll put on a few pounds even with my training schedule, but when I really start to put on the miles in the Spring and Summer I'll drop down from 185ish to 175. At 6'2" and being decently muscular particularly in my legs, I have to watch myself because I simply don't have fat. That seems to impact my ability to properly keep hydrated so I'll cramp. When I did a half Ironman two years ago it was a constant struggle with hydration and nutrition.