RW: What ‘Brittany Runs a Marathon’ Gets Wrong About Running While Fat

I can't wait until the "acceptance" movement encompasses alcoholics, meth addicts, kleptomaniacs and pedophiles (well, the latter is already in place for some). They should all get together for a five hour marathon pacing group, drinking, shooting up, stealing and groping the entire way, while "...looking for a loved one in the crowd".

She does not appear to have actually finished the marathon from the Dopey Challenge. She has no times listed after the half split (which was at 3:40:26). I also could not find anyone with her name and age who has competed a marathon according to Athlinks.

Usain Dolt wrote:

She does not appear to have actually finished the marathon from the Dopey Challenge. She has no times listed after the half split (which was at 3:40:26). I also could not find anyone with her name and age who has competed a marathon according to Athlinks.

Derrick, do you hear this? We need a investigation.

Precious Roy wrote:

... But absent a real medical issue, if an overweight woman adopts a healthy diet and trains for a marathon, she will lose weight. ....

Easier said than done. I've run 39 marathons over the last 13 years. When I started my weight was about 195 lbs. I eventually got down to 170 lbs, but mostly fluctuated around 185 lbs. Sure, I run marathons faster when I weigh less, but the will power to control diet is much more difficult for me than doing a 20-mile run. The only time I do lose weight is when a random motivation overcomes me for a few days or weeks where I eat healthy and a normal amount. Most of the time though I can't stop myself from eating.

However, I think that its best to just keep on running. Maybe you're not at your "racing weight", maybe you'll embarass yourself by taking more than 4 hours, but don't let being fat be an excuse for not running. So, I agree with the author when she says: "But I want anyone who aspires to run a marathon—no matter how unlikely it seems—to know that a before-and-after is not required"

She does not appear to have actually finished the marathon wrote:

Usain Dolt wrote:

She does not appear to have actually finished the marathon from the Dopey Challenge. She has no times listed after the half split (which was at 3:40:26). I also could not find anyone with her name and age who has competed a marathon according to Athlinks.

Derrick, do you hear this? We need a investigation.

Since he broke his ankle at Crim maybe he'll have time to do this?

So the actress is kind of attractive and personable unlike the author? Is that was this jealous article is about? Damn, the author looks like she smells of boxed wine and Xanax. And cats.

As a fat guy, I’m ashamed that a fellow fatty makes us all look bad.

I'm proud to be an overweight runner. It takes motivation and discipline to get up and get out the door every morning when my body is not currently built to cover distance in a fast or smooth manner, and it takes guts for me to toe the starting line when I know I'll be in the back of the pack even though cardiovascularly and muscularly I'm fitter than a lot of people passing me, but not when adjusted for the body weight.

But that doesn't mean I'm not fully committed to improving myself, my body, my health, and my performance. Completely to the contrary; I just have accepted that the best way to lose weight is very slowly, and there's no reason I shouldn't enjoy the journey and celebrate my fitness and progress and capabilities in the meantime, before I reach some kind of societally acceptable body size. How does this make me any less committed to someone that happens to weigh a little less, most likely due to genetics?

.InjuryProne. wrote:

Body positivity movement is one of the biggest mindfucks out there. Even more so when people with PhDs are supporting it.

It is one thing to be comfortable in your skin and overweight it is another to be promoting obese confidence rather than a healthy lifestyle. Obesity creates a huge medical bill for every taxpayer to foot.

I understand not all fat people can control their weight, but I don’t see what is preventing most “body positive athletes” from shedding some weight while changing their diet. It really isn’t that difficult to train your body to become fat adopted for its main energy source especially as one’s natural metabolism begins to slow down.

America's obesity rate is almost 40% for adults. It wasn't anywhere near this stratosphere until very recent history. Obesity is a huge health issue and while body-shaming is not right, those promoting obesity is ok are bad two. 40% of American's aren't obese because of genetic predisposition. It because they don't balance caloric intake to what they use. People eat too much, and too much crap, and don't exercise enough.

This is a huge medical concern for those overweight and those not who are footing the bill in our premiums. An obesity premium should be on people's healthcare just like the smoking premium.

This author of this article comes off as a total moron to me. Why someone thinks they should just accept a lifestyle that is unhealthy and will take years off their life is beyond me.

For a purported author, she failed in her writing when presumed the reader understood she was fat, when she was making the comments about the retail people not intuiting she was a runner cuz she was fat.

After reading her review, I still don't understand what the movie got wrong. I'm going to check it out tho.

Classic, me me me centric worldview.

My Pronouns : your highness, their highness

She is an Insult to us Hobbyjoggers wrote:

I found a post on the author's blog:

https://katebrowne.net/my-brother-my-running-and-me/

"I realized then that I was being a little boneheaded about resisting my training because it takes me almost four hours to complete a half marathon. I was dragging my feet, literally, because I refused to acknowledge what’s real about me: I will never be good at running."

Yes, that's an average of over 18min/mi. Do you think the marathon she ran actually counted her time? Most courses close after 6 hours.

Sounds like she's making the mistake that many new and/or overweight runners make: they start with the goal of running further (around the block, couch to 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon), rather than running better and faster. They're happy with plodding at a very slow pace through a marathon, often slower than a brisk walking pace. Limiting themselves to a maximum race distance of 10k for the first 5 years of running and training to become faster at that and all distances below would most likely see them enjoy running more, as well as run a much faster marathon should they eventually decide to run that distance.

If you stop and think about it for even a few moments, you realize that the drama of a fat person demanding to be taken seriously as a runner would only be marketable in America, a place where calories are easy to come by.

In most of the world, they're not easy to come by, and people are starving.

I like the trailer and actually empathize with the lead character, since running is indeed a transformative activity, one that can reshape your life. I like seeing stories about people who figure that out.

As for Kate Browne, Ph.D.: you're precious, honey. So precious. But please don't waste too many more career-hours telling us how proud you are of the body that you haven't yet begun to whip into shape. You've walked up to the starting line. I approve! We've all been there. We've all had that first burst of pride. Now do the hard work of whittling yourself down.

rosenk wrote:

I know I'll be in the back of the pack even though cardiovascularly and muscularly I'm fitter than a lot of people passing me, but not when adjusted for the body weight.

?

You're not fitter. At all.

&&&???? wrote:

She is an Insult to us Hobbyjoggers wrote:

I found a post on the author's blog:

https://katebrowne.net/my-brother-my-running-and-me/

"I realized then that I was being a little boneheaded about resisting my training because it takes me almost four hours to complete a half marathon. I was dragging my feet, literally, because I refused to acknowledge what’s real about me: I will never be good at running."

Yes, that's an average of over 18min/mi. Do you think the marathon she ran actually counted her time? Most courses close after 6 hours.

Most people can walk faster than that.

When I jog at 11:30 pace, as I've done recently with a brutally tweaked hamstring, I can't imagine moving any slower. It's certainly not running. It's not really jogging. It's an incredibly slow recovery pace. It's a micro-pace. It's great spiritual training: learning how to let go of the identity "runner" and surrender to something quite different from that.

I can't imagine "running" a marathon at 18 minute pace and calling myself a runner. Seriously? You're animate. You're an endurance beast. But a runner? Hardly.

Yeah I’m not sure about this. Marathon training has got to be one of the worst ways to lose weight. I’ve gained 5 lbs since I started training, although admittedly I am still quite lean with a BMI now 20 instead of 19.

Metabolism doesn't slow down as you get older, people are just less active. In the winter, I work less (remodel houses) and run more. In the summer, I work more and run less. I am always lighter in the summer by a few lbs.

That hour you run isn't nearly as effective at burning calories as 10 hours of roofing is.

My brother, who has always been heavy, had a heart attack at 52. He's 56 now and walks a couple miles a day at 16 min/ mile. He told me some of his facebook friends post their "runs" and they are a slower pace.

She doesn't run. She walks. At 18min/mile, this seems obvious to me.

THIS! Great post.

+2..

I think about this a lot, as it is the case in ultra running..I love the sport, I really do, it's fascinating, but there are a lot of profiles out there in present day that state how they're new to running, and within a year or 2, they're doing 100-200 milers. I don't get it. I really don't. It's like the farther they run, it validates to the outsiders how determined they are. Social media influence is a big part of this trend. I just ask..will you still be running a decade from now?

+3

Can I join the coffee club?