Did the Olympic Channel just unknowingly reveal how Des Linden (and Yuki) won 2018 Boston? Des has a 19.6% body fat percentage

Women have much more body fat than men so 20% is believable.

The typical elite Easy African body type is much slimmer than this but don't forget that healthy western women have body fat in the 30% range.

Elite males have body fat in the 10% range and the healthy non runner is 20% so it is similar.

I agree with Rojo, with the caveat that she'd be faster in optimal conditions if her body fat was lower.

Perhaps the runner who talks the most about drinking hard alcohol stores a little more body fat as a result. Of course, there is no way to prove this. But I hate when people are like "oh elites do this vice, so it's okay for everyone else". How do we know that elites wouldn't be even faster if they didn't do that thing?

She has every right to drink as much whiskey as she wants, I just wonder if the utterly monastic lifestyle of stacking up the .1 percenters (no alcohol, all healthy food, perfect sleep, etc), as Rupp and Kipchoge seem to do, is the only way to completely maximize performance.

Looking at her I'm not convinced she's 20% but she is a small frame and some of that percentage is internal to protect organs and so on.

What surprised me about that video was the Sports Science guy saying "Now we're going to do an Anaerobic Threshold test" ... how many years have we been trying to get rid of that misnaming?

You would have to prove her competitors weren't also in the 15-20% range for this theory to even be considered.

maybe this wrote:

The higher BF percentage probably plays a role in long-term durability as well and decreased risk of injury.

Wasn't there a post on here a while back about how most Kenyan women are able to maintain higher levels of body fat with a lower BMI than most Western women due to such an ectomorphic frame? This meaning they were hormonally healthier and less prone to injury. People like Sally Kipyego and Mary Keitany seem to continue to menstruate normally and be fertile even with a low BMI.

there yesterday wrote:

maybe this wrote:

The higher BF percentage probably plays a role in long-term durability as well and decreased risk of injury.

Wasn't there a post on here a while back about how most Kenyan women are able to maintain higher levels of body fat with a lower BMI than most Western women due to such an ectomorphic frame? This meaning they were hormonally healthier and less prone to injury. People like Sally Kipyego and Mary Keitany seem to continue to menstruate normally and be fertile even with a low BMI.

Mary Keitany lost NYCM in 2017 because she got her period for the first time in months.

I doubt Des really has 20% body fat. I don't believe DEXA scan results.

I wonder if muscle helps insulate a runner in cold weather conditions. How would someone like Lopez Lomong (lots of muscle, very low body fat) have fared at Boston?

Factors other than body fat may have been at play in the cold, wind, and rain at Boston that favored Des Linden. Because it was cold runners grabbed what warm stuff they had and wore it to the start and for a while in the race intending to doff them when they warmed up. But of course they did not warm up. Linden happened to grab some serious mittens and a more wind proof jacket than others might had lying around. She kept them on. Chance had a part.

Also we have noticed that some runners have leg veins on top of sub cutaneous body fat. Their legs look like road maps. They likely lose heat more quickly than the runners whose veins you can't see, especially in cold rain and wind.

Of course being fit and competitive has the most to do with it.

Tom

colorunner123 wrote:

I doubt Des really has 20% body fat. I don't believe DEXA scan results.

I wonder if muscle helps insulate a runner in cold weather conditions. How would someone like Lopez Lomong (lots of muscle, very low body fat) have fared at Boston?

I believe it. You have to remember 20% on a dexascan is a much lower number than 20% on calipers or underwater weighing. We are used to using those inaccurate calipers numbers (10% on calipers is closer to 15% on Dexa for most people) cause they came first and are easy to get. Doesn't mean they are right.

colorunner123 wrote:

I doubt Des really has 20% body fat. I don't believe DEXA scan results.

I wonder if muscle helps insulate a runner in cold weather conditions. How would someone like Lopez Lomong (lots of muscle, very low body fat) have fared at Boston?

She is 155 cm, 45kg or 5'1", 99 lbs. This is a BMI of 19 and at the very low end of normal weight. Since I would expect Desi to have more muscle mass than a non-world class athlete, the 20% does seem high.

zzzz wrote:

gjk Tri ijn be to k wrote:

No way her BF is 20%

20% is believable. I've always thought super low body fat was overrated in running. The negative health effects of what many people do to get to low body fat negates the small gains from slightly lower weight.

Not a runner, but I've done a quick estimate of body fat using skinfold calipers on the upper arm for my skinny, sub-100 lb 5'4 sister. A one point test is not that accurate, but the table for that said she was around 28%. You'd never guess looking at her.

Low body fat overrated in running? This is one of the most basic universally accepted principals in distance running. You can look at the podium on any major marathon and everyone is skinny as hell. Any extra weight be it muscle or fat is detrimental. It's pretty basic extra weight when traveling distance equals extra energy spent. Maybe fat Kenny B can finish top 3 in a major because he's the most talented runner in the world but he showed last year the skinny Kenny B can run at WR pace for the marathon.

No. You are aware she nearly won Boston another time, in completely different conditions, yes? As for Yuki, the answer is clear though not as simple as you think.

The real story here is Rojo sitting down to learn Des' body fat % and saying "here we go" (what??) and then being shocked that her body fat % is over 50% higher than he expected.

Sounds like Rojo doesn't really understand the relationship between weight and performance as much as he thought. And he also doesn't know how to evaluate a woman's body fat % just by looking at her.

Commenters, I hate to say this, but learn from Rojo's experience. Even if he doesn't.

gjk Tri ijn be to k wrote:

No way her BF is 20%

Yeah, it's 19. Can you read?

I think it’s because she was the only person to put on a rain jacket.

If you’ve ever run in 35f rain, you know it’s miserable. There is no way to stay warm without a jacket. 35f and dry... a shirt is fine.

I think fat percentage matters much less than picking the right clothes. Cold muscles don’t perform well.

I think as a rule, runners should wear more clothes when it’s cold. Keeping muscles wam is key

Source: am a xc skier from mn. Have raced in miserable weather.

WinnytheBish wrote:

gjk Tri ijn be to k wrote:

No way her BF is 20%

Yeah, it's 19. Can you read?

Wrong. It's 19.6, which is 20 at 2 digits, not 19.

I ran a marathon that had a massive downpour right after the start of the race and then was cold and windy as a front blew through. Once you get soaked, you start burning lots of energy trying to stay warm even though you are running. I was in top shape at that race and was completely spent by mil 16.

I think having a water proof jacket and mittens was a big factor for Desi. Only one of the top E. Africans had a jacket, and it was a very lightweight looking thing. Having dry hands and a dry body is a game changer in those conditions.

I am not sure body fat % necessarily translates into being resilient to cold weather. When I was at racing weight, my body fat % was above 20%. I could not stand being cold. Even after quitting racing marathons and putting on 20 lbs, I am always the first guy to get cold toes when skiing.

Primo Numero Uno wrote:

Low body fat overrated in running? This is one of the most basic universally accepted principals in distance running. You can look at the podium on any major marathon and everyone is skinny as hell.

I think it can be both, depending on how you frame it.

You're thinking at the population level: the winners of major marathons tend to have low body fat. Relative to the population at large, even the healthy population, ALL elite runners have low body fat.

Now speaking about the individual. Comparing one elite athlete to another - they BOTH have low body fat, but one has more, one has less. The race doesn't always go to the person with lower body fat. Body fat has way more to do with explaining why an elite is faster than a jo schmo, but it does a much worse job of predicting who would win between two elites.

What might also be true: To have long term success in distance running over a career, a little extra body fat goes a loooooong way.

If you rank top athletes in terms of total career winnings or # of top-10 finishes, maybe you'd find that high bodyfat (relative to other elites) is a helpful factor. Again, not speaking about high body fat compared to the general population - just compared to other elites.

Des is tough as nails and her body type helps. I mean she drinks whiskey and everyone knows casual whiskey drinkers are tougher than the average person.