Skinnier is definitely not always better, stop obsessing about your weight. The world's best runner weighs more than 99% of sub-elite guys.
tell that to most college coaches, men and women coaches. I am a man and had an eating disorder in college bc of my coach
This is an American thing. In Europe there is more emphasis on athletes in general not carrying “excessive” weight (obviously) but holding enough weight to stay healthy etc given the rigors of training. In the US it’s more about aspiring to be thin because that means “light” and “fast” - so it’s more about superficial benefits rather than actual. Shocking for the US to be that way…uh…right…?
As others have mentioned, nordics often have a larger bone structure than what you’d see in other ethnicities. I’m half Norwegian and my physique seems to really take after that side of my family. I have a very similar body structure to Jakob, I’m an inch taller and vary between 5-10 lbs heavier. The lowest I’ve gotten in this frame is 153 lbs and I was very very sick at the time. I start feeling unhealthy once I get to the low 160s.
Its really just not as simple as smaller=faster. Mass requires additional power to move, but if you have the right kind of mass you will have that additional power to move your additional mass, and you’re just as efficient as someone that is smaller but weaker. Higher, properly trained muscle mass can actually help you handle volume better without as high of an injury risk. If you are running proper mileage and workouts, and your bodyfat% is low enough that you are toned you are ready to race well regardless of the number on the scale.
This seems pretty reasonable to me. If we assume the highest weight and lowest height of 6’1 and 74 kg, I reckon he’s still extremely powerful and lean. He’s basically the same size as the guys with the top 3-10 min power relative to their body weight in cycling. For instance, van der poel is basically the same height at 75kg, and you’d be very hard pressed to not think the guy was extremely lean. There’s no great reason to believe you can’t be an elite middle distance runner at jakobs size
Running is more equivalent to climbing in cycling i.e. speed is constrained by power/weight. Also, explains why van der poel is not a climber.
This reminds of Solinsky's AR. I think he was very similar - 6'1" 165lbs, and that was the 10 000m.
Presumably Ingebrigtsen will be faster the day he decides to run that distance, but sub 27 is nothing to sneeze at, and all Solinsky had was knee socks - which despite solid marketing did not prove to be as revolutionary as super shoes.
I do remember thinking Solinsky looked freaking enormous on the track though haha.
This reminds of Solinsky's AR. I think he was very similar - 6'1" 165lbs, and that was the 10 000m.
Presumably Ingebrigtsen will be faster the day he decides to run that distance, but sub 27 is nothing to sneeze at, and all Solinsky had was knee socks - which despite solid marketing did not prove to be as revolutionary as super shoes.
I do remember thinking Solinsky looked freaking enormous on the track though haha.
He looked "enormous" because he was lining up against short ectomorphs. Solinsky looked like a somewhat normal person - he had an actual athletes' build that what lean as hell. Only runners with distorted views on body image were amazed by his performances, despite the other more important physiology to takes to being a good runner.
Absolutely, you'd get laughed at for calling 165lbs anything but skinny if this was forum for offensive linemen or something.
But he was a somewhat significant statistical outlier in both height and weight for sub 27 10 000m runners. Not to say that necessarily means anything.
This reminds of Solinsky's AR. I think he was very similar - 6'1" 165lbs, and that was the 10 000m.
Presumably Ingebrigtsen will be faster the day he decides to run that distance, but sub 27 is nothing to sneeze at, and all Solinsky had was knee socks - which despite solid marketing did not prove to be as revolutionary as super shoes.
I do remember thinking Solinsky looked freaking enormous on the track though haha.
Joe Klecker's build reminds me of Solinsky's. Both look like they were college wrestlers.
Jakob looks only slightly shorter (depending on how much pomade in his hair) but in running videos of all three together, Jakob looks to have the thickest waist and legs and more muscular gluts.
There's really not much upper body mass on those guys so 165 seems a touch heavy, but not by much. So maybe their listed weights are offseason, and they're a bit lighter at their absolute peak. I don't think they care what weight they're listed at.
Considering the height and weight of most Norwegian XC skiers are of a similar build, I'm not that shocked considering the Viking genes Norwegians have. All I know is thank God he doesn't have some coach that is obsessed with having his runners under a BMI under 20. Personally in my running I have found more success weighing a bit more than what is thought of as ideal. I used to be always constantly restricting my calories to keep my weight under 130 ibs and under 125 for my peak races(I'm 5'8 for reference). I had constant injuries and poor training doing this. I kinda burned out doing this and just started focusing on having fun enjoying trail running, rock climbing and stop restricting my calories. Now I'm sitting at between 145-150 and my running has never been better and it just feels a lot better being stronger overall. I haven't had a major injury since doing this. I think some people, especially those of European ancestry are meant to be a bit more built/muscular. I think the best course of action is to eat healthy, plenty of starches to keep up the energy demands of your aerobic activities, plenty of protein for recovery and a bit of junk food if you are putting in a carp ton of training like Jakob and the other Norwegians are doing. In general my personal belief is that it is nonsense for any male runner to try to lose weight if they have visible abs and that there's no perfect set weight for x height. Not that you need abs, but I've seen too many runners trying to lose weight when they have no fat to lose just to get a stress fracture.
Running is more equivalent to climbing in cycling i.e. speed is constrained by power/weight. Also, explains why van der poel is not a climber.
There's no climbing in track so maybe it's easty to forget that Jakob isn't a climber either. He ran poorly at Aarhus World XC junior race with the repeated steep climbs, and he lost to a lot of hobby joggers in a Norwegian mountain race.
Running is more equivalent to climbing in cycling i.e. speed is constrained by power/weight. Also, explains why van der poel is not a climber.
There's no climbing in track so maybe it's easty to forget that Jakob isn't a climber either. He ran poorly at Aarhus World XC junior race with the repeated steep climbs, and he lost to a lot of hobby joggers in a Norwegian mountain race.
He ran poorly in Aarhus RELATIVE TO HIS NORMALLY HIGH PERFORMANCE LEVEL.
But he was still the fastest non East African. More than a minute faster than the first non East African (a Japanese runner) and more than 1.5 minute faster than the first American.
I think it depends on your genes. People with actn3 xx can gain muscle masse without loosing much of their endurance. It is very common in asians, but lacking in kenyans. In Scandinavians about 16-18% have it.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
On the one hand, having a bit of fat is great for training and durability. On the other hand, it makes you a bit slower on the day of the race. It's a tricky balance. It seems like he's found it.
There's no climbing in track so maybe it's easty to forget that Jakob isn't a climber either. He ran poorly at Aarhus World XC junior race with the repeated steep climbs, and he lost to a lot of hobby joggers in a Norwegian mountain race.
He ran poorly in Aarhus RELATIVE TO HIS NORMALLY HIGH PERFORMANCE LEVEL.
But he was still the fastest non East African. More than a minute faster than the first non East African (a Japanese runner) and more than 1.5 minute faster than the first American.
Just to ballpark the power numbers we are talking about.
Using the fact that in running meters/second ≈ watts/kg (sad I know, but true)
Then for their respective PR's at 5000 meters
Ingebrigtsen ≈ 481 average watts
Cheptegei ≈ 344 average watts
It takes a helluva lot more power to run fast if you are big. Who knew?
But still at 6.5 watts per kg for 12+ minutes Jakob would be an elite climber in cycling, but yeah perhaps more Wout van Aert than Pogačar.
There's no climbing in track so maybe it's easty to forget that Jakob isn't a climber either. He ran poorly at Aarhus World XC junior race with the repeated steep climbs, and he lost to a lot of hobby joggers in a Norwegian mountain race.
He ran poorly in Aarhus RELATIVE TO HIS NORMALLY HIGH PERFORMANCE LEVEL.
But he was still the fastest non East African. More than a minute faster than the first non East African (a Japanese runner) and more than 1.5 minute faster than the first American.
Right, just like a Van der Poel is not a climber RELATIVE TO HIS NORMALLY HIGH PERFORMANCE LEVEL.
tell that to most college coaches, men and women coaches. I am a man and had an eating disorder in college bc of my coach
This is an American thing. In Europe there is more emphasis on athletes in general not carrying “excessive” weight (obviously) but holding enough weight to stay healthy etc given the rigors of training. In the US it’s more about aspiring to be thin because that means “light” and “fast” - so it’s more about superficial benefits rather than actual. Shocking for the US to be that way…uh…right…?
Will also note that on your TV, distance athletes simply look bigger than they are. I ran with Emma Coburn and Cory McGee on a run last year and was pretty surprised by just how small they were. Jakob is a pretty tall guy, but by no means is he big at all. He’s just not a twig like some other runners.
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