Run-Down Forums

[Mostly Harmless]

I am new to running forums, so my apologies if I am going over old ground...

Everyone is different and so it strikes me that everyone would have a different optimal distance to race at. Partly genetic factors like build, percentage of fast twitch muscles, muscle mass, aerobic capacity and even one's temperament could determine if an individual should train for sprinting or marathoning or something inbetween.

I am an aged 41 male, 185 cm. tall who weighs about 70 kilos. I have difficulty putting on muscle or even fat for that matter. I am good at endurance events but less successful with sports that require short bursts of extreme strength or extreme coordination. I have a relatively short trunk but long arms and legs. I have been running for about three years now.

But perhaps I am too large or heavy to be a good long distance runner. What do you think? I run marathons largely because I enjoy marathon training much more than training for shorter distances. Racing 10 K isn't bad but at 5 K I feel that it is over before I have fully warmed up. My ability is strictly recreational (3:14 marathon, 39 for 10K, 19 for 5K)

[Dan]

First off, welcome to the forum.

I am in complete agreement that everyone is different and suited to certain events more so than others. This is why I always object to two different things: 1) the belief that people should continually move up in distance if they aren't victorious at their current distance, and 2) providing detailed training advice to someone who I have never seen run. There are too many variables to do people any good by lumping them into one generic category.

So, back to you... Being metrically (sp?) inept and a few inches too far from my calculator to bother converting right now, I'll give the same answer as I would if I actually knew your height and weight -- it doesn't matter!! If you feel comfortable with the longer distances, as you obviously do, then your body is right for it. One of the top milers of the past 10 years in the US (McMullen) used to be a football tightend and has the frame to prove it. Our top distance runner a couple of years ago (NCAA D3/NAIA D2) outweighed most guys he ran against by 40-50 pounds but routinely beat the majority of them.

Dan

[Micah Ward]

Welcome Mostly Harmless, I would say your times are a little better than recreational and you seem to do very well at all three distances you mentioned. If 5K seems too short then you could concentrate on 10K and up and probably even improve your times. The MAIN factor though is enjoyment. Which one do you enjoy the most?

Dan, you got my curiosity up. As the resident fat boy I want to know who that heavy distance runner is.
Micah

[Dan]

He isn't anyone you'd have heard of. Small college in Oregon, from a small town nearby... He graduated the year before I started putting together our team web site (nothing was kept around from before that), so I don't believe we have any pictures online of him.

Dan

[Micah Ward]

ENOUGH TEASING!!! Unless the guy prefers to remain anonymous (which I will completely respect) I would love to know who, how fast, just how big was he and what is he up to now. Still running road races? At my peak of conditioning I was 5'9" and 169 pounds. Assuming I can get back to this does your mystery man have any special insight for someone with my (former) build that would aid in training and racing?

[Dan]

Sorry, I didn't intend to tease... His name is Stephen Cruise; don't think he would mind me sharing that. He ran anything from the 800 to the 5k on the track, with times around 1:58, 3:57, and 15:15 (I'm very unsure of the accuracy of those times, but they're in the ballpark; the 5k was with mono). He was 87th in the NCAA DIII cross country nationals his senior year in 25:06, and I believe he placed higher than that the year before when the conference was still NAIA DII. I would estimate 6'1" or 6'2", and I was recently told his racing weight was around 195 (I would have guessed 10-15 pounds less). At any rate, solidly built.

I don't think he had any secret other than a really big gas tank. You can fit more fuel in a frame that size. Seriously, he ran with guts, plain and simple. A lot of weight to carry, but an equal amount of heart to push it up those hills. He's done a few road races since graduating, but I believe he is slightly off racing form.

There, have I come clean enough?

Dan

[Justin]

I think that just watching a top class meet should be enough to show there is a space for all sorts. Of course, shot putters and high jumpers aren't that alike, but within each event there is always great variation.

A few examples - Juantorena was twice the size (almost!) of Wohlhuter or Coe; Cram was tall and thin, Ovett was shorter and much chunkier; going back a few years, I could never believe that Alberto Cova (tiny) and Werner Shildhauer (monster) both ran 10k; Gebre is 5 or 6 inches shorter than many of his rivals.

As the others said, run the one you like best, don't try to force fit yourself.

Justin

[Micah Ward]

Thanks Dan, Cruise must have been an amazing sight on a XC course or a track. Put his guts and desire in some of the guys we have mentioned elswhere and I think you got gold medals.

It is amazing at times to see the performances run at road races in the Clydesdale division. Some of these big guys can go!

[Dan]

We've got a picture of Stephen (nicknamed the cruise missile, although the timeliness of that makes it a bit less amusing right now) on the old '99 cross country schedule poster thing. If it weren't in the old uniforms, I'd post it to the team site. I think the camera caught him in the perfect light, but he looks like he'd give Arnold a run for his money, and not talking about running...

By the way, the team site in question is www.run-down.com/bearcats/

Dan