Allie O Leaves Brooks, Takes Step Back from Pro Running

This is my opinion.

She was also injured at Boise State for a while so her injury issues have been dogging her for a while now.

If you look at her family's general body type (Teri and Paul I think are her parents), they don't look like runners from a physique standpoint. Allie's genetics gave her God-given talent but at the same time wanted her to be naturally bigger as an adult. Nothing wrong with that, we're all different sizes based on our genetics. These are two opposing factors that is not sustainable for elite running. She has been fighting her body and maybe she is not meant to be a runner even though she has the talent. Maybe she is meant to be a world class XC skier but just never realized it. Skiers tend to have a higher muscle % than elite runners and high VO2max.

My point is she is right to pick things that are better suited for her body than trying to compete against sticks from East Africa. It's not fair for her or her body to expect that much. This is a problem for many Western-born women. They just can't keep up, body-wise, with hyper efficient skinny women form Kenya. That's not what European genes want...especially if you have nordic ancestory.

With that said, if Allie wants to give another go at this later. Maybe that desire comes back. She can talk to Nell Rojas. Nell is a chick who is naturally a bigger, muscular lady but makes it work by a ton of strength training and such.

Are we really using Tyler Hamilton as an example of being healthy???? Have you read his book? He was injecting mad amounts of EPO and taking testosterone pills. Underfueling might of been the least of his worry. Let’s see if he even makes it’s past his 60’s

I don't think there is anything helpful about questioning the very existence of eating disorders. Yes, there are often practical reasons for athletes to maintain as low a body weight as they can manage - this is nothing new - but that is something different. For evidence of the "realness" of eating disorders, you need look no further than extreme cases of anorexia. When an otherwise healthy woman starves herself until her weight is less than 60 pounds, and eventually dies from starvation-related causes, you can be pretty sure that eating disorders are all too real.

It may be true that YOU personally don't struggle with these issues, and for YOU personally it would not be a big deal to try to get down to (and then maintain) your ideal racing weight, but that doesn't mean it's the same way for everyone. I don't want to sound like I think I'm an expert on eating disorders, or alcoholism/other addictions, but I think it is safe to say that nobody would take me seriously if I said "Hey, I like a few drinks as much as the next guy, but I know to stop before I've had too much. I mean, it's kind of a no-brainer!" as an argument against the existence of alcoholism. If you can accept that as unacceptably simplistic, than why not the same attitude towards eating disorders?

exactly because there is no rational benefit to being constantly drunk. while there is a important, even essential benefit to being very light as a professional runner. as such its obvious that being drunk is a bad thing while this is much harder for light runners. mostly you only know long after the fact whether it in fact was a problem. (if the person gets injured or performance goes down).

100 times as many people have health issue associated with overeating as undereating including Covid.

team Unruly Bush wrote:

It seems like she could be a more talented version of max king

You see her moving to trails and ultra distances anytime soon? She does have a trail background running Mt. Marathon.

Good luck to her. She has always been one of my favorite people in life

Best of luck to her.

I know nothing of the challenges she has faced, but hopefully she can get it all sorted out.

Good post. I got the sense that when she was in high school, Allie restricted calories to stave off puberty and the not always advantageous body type changes that go with puberty. Like you, I was basing it off her parents' and sister's genetics/ build. Allie likely continued the restricted diet behavior in college, and may have done permanent damage to her bone density- the reason for all her stress fractures.

The bigger build that westerners have as compared to East Africans is with men too. US men have heavier builds, wider hips, bigger frames etc. They are not genetically meant to weigh 110 pounds. Some males try. I always suspected it was behind Dathan Ritzenhein's injury prone career.

sad. I hope people will be respectful of her choice.

Tyler Hamilton? And his chimera? He most certainly was - and probably still is - a shìthead.

At some stage in life you people here will realize running is not that important in any scheme of things.

If she isn't enjoying it, its good that she took time off. She doesn't have to be a contracted athlete. Plenty of us succeeded working a job.

My sense is that running is her life though.

Big Allie O fan and I'm glad she made this really hard choice. I have no doubt she can get help, get healthy, and come back and crush if she wants to. But severe eating disorders require prolonged treatment - if running is a trigger for her, it has to go (she hasn't said that, but just a guess). It's tough to constantly be fighting your body.

Also, for all the ignorant people on here who say "she doesn't look like she has an eating disorder" - that's the worst argument ever and that thing that prevents people from seeking help. You can actually be severely malnourished at any weight, especially if you are fighting your natural genetic disposition.

Not fast enough wrote:

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes.html

100 times as many people have health issue associated with overeating as undereating including Covid.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7010e4.htm

It's funny that you think that is somehow relevant. Another statistic for you - approximately 98% of the world's population is more intelligent than you are, but that's also not relevant. While I am sorry for your disability, I feel worse for Allie O and her eating disorder. I hope she gets better and comes back stronger than ever.

your LD is showing wrote:

Not fast enough wrote:

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes.html

100 times as many people have health issue associated with overeating as undereating including Covid.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7010e4.htm

It's funny that you think that is somehow relevant. Another statistic for you - approximately 98% of the world's population is more intelligent than you are, but that's also not relevant. While I am sorry for your disability, I feel worse for Allie O and her eating disorder. I hope she gets better and comes back stronger than ever.

Dunno. When a nurse calls me to tell me that my patient's blood pressure has fallen to 70/50, I usually just declare "hypertension is way more prevalent than hypotension" and hang up. Is there something else I should be doing?

You are incorrect about one point. I did score 35 on the ACT and had my IQ tested at 121. I am also an administrator at a large hospital and see the daily admission stats. Nearly all are related to overeating and nearly none are related to undereating or bulimia. People are thinking that overeating and undereating are unrelated but when we have a society that accepts gluttony, we are in trouble. We now think anyone of normal weight looks sickly because 70% of people are overweight.

Life as a pro runner is precarious. While many of us would love to live that life, having your entire career dependent on pushing it to red line w/o injury is a balancing act than many just cannot maintain. Imagine the next 2-3 years of your life being dependent on one or 2 races?

I hope she can re-group but the stories of leaving and coming back are very few and very far between.

A special message from Allie to the LetsRun boards

https://gcdn.pbrd.co/images/dIZQxFihO4Vn.jpg?o=1