Elite Marathoners Height & Weight

A little more accepted way (scientifically) is to look at the Body Mass Index (BMI).

BMI = (weight in points x (height in inches) squared) x 705

So the break-out then this:

men

1) Gharib - 21.5

2) Lel - 18.5

3) Gebrselassie - 19.8

4) Muindi - 21.4

5) Limo - 19.2

6) Manyim - 21.0

7) Koech - 18.4

8) Ramaala - 21.4

9) Tergat - 18.2

10) Isegwe - 19.9

average: 19.9

(note: contrary to conveniential wisdom two of the best hot weather runners on the list had two of the highest BMIs - Gharib and Muindi)

Women

1) Radcliffe - 18.1

2) Ndereba - 17.6

3) Prokopcuka - 18.1

4) Tomescu - 17.7

5) Kastor - 18.1

6) Noguchi - 18.2

7) Chepkemei - 18.0

8) Tulu - 18.7

9) Zhou - 16.6

10) Hara - 18.3

average: 18.0

(note: much more closely group here around the average of 18.0)

For comparison purposes

Kenenisa Bekele is listed at 5'3" / 119 lbs for a BMI of 21.0

Saif Shaheen is listed at 5'9.75" / 141 lbs for a BMI of 20.4

Tirunesha Dibaba is listed at 5'3" / 104 lbs for a BMI of 18.5

Meseret Defar is listed at 5'1" / 93 lbs for a BMI of 17.6

Wow! Haile grew an inch and a half. He used to be listed as 5'3". His official weight stayed the same at 117lbs.

esperanza wrote:

Wow! Haile grew an inch and a half. He used to be listed as 5'3".

They probably measured him when he was wearing trainers. That's another argument for switching to flats: less distortion of statistics. What do you think, trackhead?

Any more data points for 6'0" runners? There's Tergat on there at 134lbs, which is ridiculous. He must have been starving himself, explains why he indulged so much after retiring.

Shouldn't a 6'0" runner be more like 145 lbs at the elite level?

Tall Guys? wrote:

Any more data points for 6'0" runners? There's Tergat on there at 134lbs, which is ridiculous. He must have been starving himself, explains why he indulged so much after retiring.

Shouldn't a 6'0" runner be more like 145 lbs at the elite level?

Alan Culpepper - 6'1'', 130 lbs (2:09)

Wilson Kipsang - 6'0'', 130 lbs (2:03)

Matt Tegenkamp - 6'3'', 145 lbs (2:12)

Most 6'0'' or higher runners are also very light. This shouldn't be a surprise. 6'0'' marathoners are already very rare, and a 6'0'' with a higher BMI would be considered EXTREMELY rare.

Women typically are more underweight