It seems like society is in a no-win situation here. People like Lauren Fleshman say society is making women have eating disorders and be too thin. McColgan points out many told her to actually bulk up. No matter what you do, you are ripped. Moral of the story? Don't ever talk to a woman about her weight.
Society isn’t wrong in calling her too skinny. Society has opinions on everyone’s bodies, as you know. Just like it thinks most distance guys are cancer patients.
The way to measure whether or not her weight is healthy is not by fast track times but by actual physical health in the long term.
I think any athlete is silly for trading short-term success for long-term health. We'll know if she's too skinny if 20 years from now she doesn't have a bunch of health disorders like osteoporosis.
There are some people who are genetically predispositioned to be extremely slim. McColgan may be one of them (esp since her mom was built like that).
If she was constantly getting bone stress injuries at that weight, then I'd say it'd be a huge red flag that she's in RED-S and needs to put on weight. But if she's sustaining high mileage and consistency over the long term (and getting periods, etc etc), then it may just be how her body is meant to look.
The thing that perplexes me about critics is we know elite endurance athletes require elite aerobic capacity—which most of the population doesn’t have. With gravity based sports like distance running and grand tour cycling we also know you need to be very light while still being “healthy”—which most of the population can’t maintain.
It’s this combo of elite aerobic capacity AND elite body weight where we get top level endurance athletes. Many people have one or the other but what makes the elite truly elite is having both. Just like most of us “normal people” can’t copy elite level endurance training and get their same results. We also can’t copy elite level body types and get the same results.
There are some people who are genetically predispositioned to be extremely slim. McColgan may be one of them (esp since her mom was built like that).
If she was constantly getting bone stress injuries at that weight, then I'd say it'd be a huge red flag that she's in RED-S and needs to put on weight. But if she's sustaining high mileage and consistency over the long term (and getting periods, etc etc), then it may just be how her body is meant to look.
Yes, this is her natural body type. Just like a lot of Kenyans naturally have a thin build. The problem is when those who are not built this way take unhealthy measures like dieting to force their bodies into something they are not. At the pro level, however, you can see that the athletes' bodies are different. Of course there aren't any obese pro runners because the training they do prevents that, but there are different builds and heights.
To me it seems clear that she has an unusually lean build, even for a tall person. But I've never gotten why people assume she's unhealthy. She doesn't have the same kind of crazy muscle definition, gaunt/sunken face, or thick peach fuzz on her arms that unheathily thin women often do. She hasn't been injured in a few years, has been performing great with no sign of slowing down, says she gets a regular period, and has a similar body type to her mother. Her weight is clearly working for her, even though a lot of other women would not be healthy at that weight.
There are some people who are genetically predispositioned to be extremely slim. McColgan may be one of them (esp since her mom was built like that).
If she was constantly getting bone stress injuries at that weight, then I'd say it'd be a huge red flag that she's in RED-S and needs to put on weight. But if she's sustaining high mileage and consistency over the long term (and getting periods, etc etc), then it may just be how her body is meant to look.
Yes, this is her natural body type. Just like a lot of Kenyans naturally have a thin build. The problem is when those who are not built this way take unhealthy measures like dieting to force their bodies into something they are not. At the pro level, however, you can see that the athletes' bodies are different. Of course there aren't any obese pro runners because the training they do prevents that, but there are different builds and heights.
Do you think if those pro runners ate a heap of garbage on top of their regular diet - so that they put on 20 pounds or so - that they'd still be as fast?
Yes, this is her natural body type. Just like a lot of Kenyans naturally have a thin build. The problem is when those who are not built this way take unhealthy measures like dieting to force their bodies into something they are not. At the pro level, however, you can see that the athletes' bodies are different. Of course there aren't any obese pro runners because the training they do prevents that, but there are different builds and heights.
Do you think if those pro runners ate a heap of garbage on top of their regular diet - so that they put on 20 pounds or so - that they'd still be as fast?
Not saying that. I'm talking about proper training and diet. That doesn't mean undereating or overeating.