Fit looking but surprisingly slow people /:

I’m surprised that you were surprised!

Hasn’t it always been true that the person who would be selected by central casting to play the perfect runner, might not have much power in their legs?

Joan Benoit in her most memorable wins didn’t look particularly cut or particularly lean, or even particularly well built for the sport.

Optimize for looking cute in your running gear, and most women can get a bit closer to that standard.

But, put miles in your legs, doesn’t necessarily lead to that runners look, of long legs, small hips, flat chest, defined abs, whatever.

Des Linden is another runner who always looked less showy in her physique or in her running clothes, but had the actual performance to make olympic teams.

Anyways, it seems to go both ways — people w/ an unassuming physique who are strong runners, and people who look the part but can’t put up particularly fast times

Andy is in the house! wrote:

How about fit looking boxer vs. average looking boxer. Guess who won?

Fixed fight is obvious.

I don’t understand. Both Des Linden and Joan Benoit have classic runners’s bodies ....

I refer to these people as the old airport team. If you receive them in the airport, you assume that they are going to be Olympians. When they get to the starting line, they are losing two guys in their mid to late 40s.

Sure, but there is the opposite.

There was a teammate of mine who I beat in college. About 10 years after we graduated we met

at a road race. This guy had a nice little pot belly where as I still looked good.

He took off at the start of a 5K and I never saw him after the first mile. He beat me by at least 2 minutes!

No that's something to complain about.

BRLT wrote:

Well 63 here , 6 feet tall 155 in real good shape . Running stinking slow 10+ min miles , the hip has gone to &hit .

Thanks for saying that, yes there are other factors!

I wondered the exact same thing, only to realize after seeing your comment that it's a typo for trails. Probably clear by now, so Captain Obvious out!

More lean than the longest distance South African runner and would probably suffer a heart attack during any attempted mid distance run.

https://whywetrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1507467609_884_andreas-munzer.jpg

Everyone is different for different reasons. Some look thin but are obese with 30% or more body fat while eating well and exercising. One of the guys at the running club was a sub-14 5K runner at 25 but now at 50 runs 26 minutes after surviving cancer and having metabolic issues and more.

Smoove wrote:

I refer to these people as the old airport team. If you receive them in the airport, you assume that they are going to be Olympians. When they get to the starting line, they are losing two guys in their mid to late 40s.

I saw one losing four guys once!

Kickapoo wrote:

BRLT wrote:

Well 63 here , 6 feet tall 155 in real good shape . Running stinking slow 10+ min miles , the hip has gone to &hit .

Thanks for saying that, yes there are other factors!

60 and time sucks. I never thought I'd be happy to 7:xx on my GPS watch during a training run.

Something always hurts. But I'm fit looking- people think I'm in my 40's. I've had people ask me if I'm good runner because, "you look good."

I tell them, I used to run good, now, I only look good. LOL

But, more to the point- I see 20 somethings running slower than me and they look lean and fast, especially women.

When I was a runner I couldn't believe how slow the distance guys were (800m +)

I was a 100 - 400 guy and could get out of bed and whack them without even warming up. And when we ran rep 300s they were huffing and puffing and I was jogging alongside and thinking of where I was going to get my beer that day.

But, know this. No matter how fit or fast you are, there is always someone fitter and faster.

This has to be one of the silliest threads on letsrun

The title of this thread describes me now. I no longer want to run hard. I run the longer trail ultras. Nobody runs hard in those. And?

Gambling Syndicate wrote:

Andy is in the house! wrote:

How about fit looking boxer vs. average looking boxer. Guess who won?

Fixed fight is obvious.

Sure. They fixed the fight in a way that greatly reduces how much could have been made if Joshua was undefeated when he fights Wilder. They were able to bribe him with more than he would have made for the Wilder fight. Do you know how big a bet they would have had to made to both pay him and make a profit? The odds would have swung wildly. If you have some evidence, show it. Otherwise stop with the amatuerish speculation.

Endurance is a completely different adaptation than just muscle development. Doesn't surprise me at all that some very athletic-looking guys can't run very far or long.

I'd rather look fit and be slow than be fast but look unfit! Of course, some people have both attributes. Maybe it's possible to be healthy looking and not care about how fast you run.

Bugs me when someone says something like this. To run fast, you have to have developed systems such as your cardiovascular system. Just because you’re skinny with low body fat does not mean your cardiovascular system is developed. That is just one of many systems that have to be developed that aren’t developed on most people for running.

On the other side of the spectrum, one of the best kids on my high school team when I was a freshman/sophomore was squat looking and had a beer gut even when running 60/70 mpw over the summer. He maintained that throughout the season. Didn’t prevent him from running low 16s. Make of that what you will.