Of course they could. Look at Ryan Hall. My wife weighed 105 in college. She lifts now and weighs 150 and is in peak shape just she was at 105. People who meet her now can'tb believe that she could hslave ever weighed less than now.
You can perform better on underfueling with the weight loss it brings, but it doesn’t last forever and never ends well in the long run.
Not to say this is what’s happening with Jane. I hope I am wrong, that she hasn’t lost weight like it looks, and that she is truly getting faster all by herself, not aided by weight loss.
Since you admit to not knowing, then what is under fueling really? How would an athlete or coach know if an athlete is under fueling? Some runners survive on 100MPW forever while others do best at 50MPW. I eat 2000 calories but my training buddy does 4000. We are about the same age, weight, and speed.
Underfueling is not eating enough, one way a coach/athlete may know it is happening is from weight loss, which is what we may be looking at with Jane. Some worry that the speculated weight loss is from not eating enough and will lead to energy deficiency and injury later.
Sure, 2000 calories is not underfueling for you if you are a stable weight, have plenty of energy, and most importantly, healthy.
Time will have to tell with Jane. I am optimistic she is actually fine. Just a bit concerning.
Sort of circle talk. By definition, weight loss is from under fueling whether an elite runner or obese person. Almost hilarious that posters get worried about the fastest runner in history.
As many are saying about Janes weight.. I’m worried about it as well. Indoors last year she looked very strong. Outdoors it seemed like she lost weight and now it’s more obvious. I would bet Coach Taylor will know how combat any potential ED issues that usually run rampant in our sport.
combine weight loss with training incredibly hard and you usually will have sickness and injury pop up. Riley I’m less worried about since she looks pretty damn healthy and strong. This version of the flu is railing everyone though.
Runs rampant? Really? Looking at the top 25 men and women in NCAA XC, who were the dozens missing due to eating disorders? Who were any missing? How about last year? The year before? You guys say this crap with no data.
As many are saying about Janes weight.. I’m worried about it as well. Indoors last year she looked very strong. Outdoors it seemed like she lost weight and now it’s more obvious. I would bet Coach Taylor will know how combat any potential ED issues that usually run rampant in our sport.
combine weight loss with training incredibly hard and you usually will have sickness and injury pop up. Riley I’m less worried about since she looks pretty damn healthy and strong. This version of the flu is railing everyone though.
If Hedengren does have an eating disorder, and I don’t she does, Taylor, like any other coach, should leave it to the professionals to handle.
Ah yes a woman who’s 5’4 and 95 pounds is healthy by any means. There’s at least 1-2 athletes on each top d1 team that struggles with bodyweight and fueling. not just women either. Denying it just because people aren’t confirming EDs is insane.
look at people at most distance programs from 2014-2020. Boise state is a great example.
But they all ran great at nationals this year and last year and the year before. Therefore, they are the healthiest, not the unhealthiest. Until you can name 1000 or 100 or even a handful who missed regionals and nationals, you are just making stuff up to virtue signal.
All the comments on her looks, who knows. If she's had the flu, she might not have been eating much and at her size that can make a big difference in how she looks. So can the camera lens etc.
What everyone needs to be aware of, is that beating records doesn't mean optimal fueling. And that looking too skinny or "healthy" doesn't mean sub or optimal fueling either.
Just like you pace a race, you also "pace" your season, and multiple seasons and career. She can go out at a hot pace and dominate everyone for a year or two, and then burn up just like someone that runs the first mile too hot leads the pack and then falls off.
The body can take years of abuse or neglect. I'm not staying she's doing this. By all accounts she's supposed to have backed off the volume.
I'd guess there's a combination of nearly every girl being too cautious about food and also her just recovering from being sick. Hopefully she knows that eating some pizza and ice cream here and there is not a terrible recovery at times.
Does anyone know at this level if the coaches prescribe certain levels of fuel pre during and post workout? I hope so!
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
All the comments on her looks, who knows. If she's had the flu, she might not have been eating much and at her size that can make a big difference in how she looks. So can the camera lens etc.
What everyone needs to be aware of, is that beating records doesn't mean optimal fueling. And that looking too skinny or "healthy" doesn't mean sub or optimal fueling either.
Just like you pace a race, you also "pace" your season, and multiple seasons and career. She can go out at a hot pace and dominate everyone for a year or two, and then burn up just like someone that runs the first mile too hot leads the pack and then falls off.
The body can take years of abuse or neglect. I'm not staying she's doing this. By all accounts she's supposed to have backed off the volume.
I'd guess there's a combination of nearly every girl being too cautious about food and also her just recovering from being sick. Hopefully she knows that eating some pizza and ice cream here and there is not a terrible recovery at times.
Does anyone know at this level if the coaches prescribe certain levels of fuel pre during and post workout? I hope so!
Uhhh...Yeah!!! Unfortunately, track doesn't work that way. I'm fairly confident "pretty close" doesn't cut it. It's kind of like saying "almost", which is another way of saying "I didn't". You also wrote "4:00 flat", which indicates she ran a legit 4:00.??? And by the way, 2 seconds in a 1500m and or mile is substantial.
Jane’s look/leanness isn’t a cause for massive concern on its own, but how quickly it happened with few changes in her lifestyle points to undereating and DOES raise concern.
If this physique shift had happened over a span of years, as she fully matured, became pro, and really ramped up her training, okay.
But this is not the case for Jane … she is 19 and still growing. Just 8 months ago she looked quite different. She is in the same area, close to home, actually doing LESS training (55 -> 50 mpw), and hasn’t even aged a year. Nothing to attribute this change to other than underfueling which is not good.
Unless you're speaking from experience, it DOES NOT raise concern. Not knowing your background and or personal elite running experience I won't throw too much shade at you on this. Jane is a 19 year old freshman who has just completed an amazing 2025 year of running. That being said, the level of stress she's experiencing with expectations for her running, school work, social life, etc... are HUGE!. All of this takes a considerable toll, including diet. Once Jane finds her groove with her new team, school, social life, and physical maturity over time, I have zero doubt she will dial in on an optimal diet that allows her to succeed at the highest level. That being said, I'm certain Diljeet has a good handle on her physical well being.
Yes, see my later posts. I said “I am optimistic she is actually fine” and said that I am in no way sure that Jane engaging in disordered eating is causing the “possible” weight loss.
Again, I am optimistic that it is an outside issue, from one of the adjustment factors you listed.