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Normalizetall wrote:
I’m sticking with my theory that being tall for distance running isn’t actually a disadvantage. It’s just that tall people find early success sufficient to be recruited by friends and coaches to stick in team sports that reward a little height so their distance talent never gets developed to a high level.
While this is certainly true of most athletes regardless of stature (mainly many people that could potentially be good runners will probably play some other sport which could compete with running for them), i definitely think height is typically a disadvantage in distance running.
The main reason is that with height comes weight. More weight means more work done to carry that weight as well as more work done to cool yourself off. In hot and humid races, weight is even more important as your body cannot cool itself efficiently like it could in cool or arid races. For elites in shorter races, wind resistance can be a problem as well.
So i definitely think height for running is a disadvantage overall.
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There seems to be a mix of heights in the elite girls' pool in the two mile. Blade, JH, Thomsen tall and Huyler, Ritz, Rodriguez on the shorter side. Kipchoge is small as is D. Ritz. Seems that being tall is more of an obvious benefit in the 800 only.
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Normalizetall wrote:
I’m sticking with my theory that being tall for distance running isn’t actually a disadvantage. It’s just that tall people find early success sufficient to be recruited by friends and coaches to stick in team sports that reward a little height so their distance talent never gets developed to a high level.
Tell me more, I'm tall, I want to believe. I know cube-square laws mean that we're worse with heat dissipation, and greater linear stride length has to be offset by cubic increases in mass. What about the rest of it?
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Awsi Dooger wrote:
size matters wrote:
her NCAA comparison for next year is probably Grace Hartman. Dont know Hartman's exact height but she's definitely 5'10 or 5'11. Pretty much equal Miles and 5k's. Hedengren is just doing it 2.5 years younger which is crazy impressive.
I attended ACC indoors and NCAA indoors. While walking trackside Hartman was close to me at one point and I was surprised at her height. I didn't realize any of the collegiate women's distance runners were that tall. I'm 6-3 and my immediate estimate was that she was 5-10.
IIRC, Hartman is 5'11"
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tall no wrote:
True. Tuohy. Cain. Lane. Ping. Phenoms fizzle out. Valby. Schweizer. Monson. ESP. Good runners become great.
claudia lane doesn't count. she just quit running, and good for her for doing what makes her happy.
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hmmmmidktho wrote:
tall no wrote:
True. Tuohy. Cain. Lane. Ping. Phenoms fizzle out. Valby. Schweizer. Monson. ESP. Good runners become great.
claudia lane doesn't count. she just quit running, and good for her for doing what makes her happy.
Cain is in med school.
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Jane can get it.
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https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10234297357166511&set=a.1620212756396
In the comments, Jane's dad John says she's 5'9". I assumed she was 5'11" since Gatorade said she was 6' one year then 5'11" the next.
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This is very informal research but I just compiled the median heights of the Olympic 5k finalists. I couldn't find height for Lobalu, Dawit Seare and Oscar Chelimo.
J.Ingebritsen 73 in
R.Kwemoi 69 in
G.Fisher 70 in
H.Gebriwhet 67 in
B.Mehary 70 in
E.Kurgat 69 in
I.Kimeli 69 in
G.Blanks 72 in
J.Krop 62 in
J.Heymans 69 in
Y.Schrub 71 in
M.Foppen 73 in
A.Yihune 67 in
T. Ndikumwenayo 67 in
H. Hay 72 in
N.Nordas 74 in
S. McSweyn 74 in
G. Mills 72 in
T. Fafard 69 in
The median height is 5'10". The average male height worldwide is 5'7.5" (I know, I switched up the metric, but the sample size is so much larger).
So I would still say that being slightly taller than average while not being extremely tall is a benefit. Jakob would probably be slower at 6'4" than he is at his current height, but you'd probably rather be Jakob at 6'1" than 3 inches down from the median at 5'7".
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Don\'t trust Gatorade wrote:
In the comments, Jane's dad John says she's 5'9". I assumed she was 5'11" since Gatorade said she was 6' one year then 5'11" the next.
So she’s the same height as Parker Valby. A big deal made out of absolutely nothing, which is par for the course on LRC
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Don't trust Gatorade wrote:
In the comments, Jane's dad John says she's 5'9". I assumed she was 5'11" since Gatorade said she was 6' one year then 5'11" the next.
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I don't see it. I see where it says she is 6'.
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tall no wrote:
I don't see it. I see where it says she is 6'.
down into the comments. there is a guy saying "how tall is so and so, he towers over Jane who is 6'" Her dad replies: "jane is 5'9. So and so is 6'4." I think it was dated 20 weeks ago. So 5'9 as of Early 2025. Not that they're taking weekly measurements or anything like that.
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This whole thread is ridiculous and I don't understand people confidently making claims about her height who have obviously never seen let alone met her. She is not 6 ft and even if she was why is there even a thread? I feel dumb for even commenting on here about this.
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Watch out her sister is waiting in the wing. We'll be having this conversation again in the next couple years.
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4 Minute Mi-liar wrote:
HsNoname wrote:
I’m almost 6’3”, 0 talent (6:00 mile freshman year) with terrible form. People say I look like a giraffe running through quicksand. My height is mostly upper body. I still ran 4:24 and 9:26 this year as a senior. If i can do that, it doesn’t surprise me one bit that Jane is as good as she is. I always felt if i had good form, balance and body awareness, a bit of talent and a few more inches in my legs rather than toreso my height would be an advantage and I could be a 4:10 guy.
If height mattered... there would be more fast tall guys than there actually are. Granted, part of it is that some guys are in other sports... the only thing about height in distance running that is important. The taller you are... the skinnier you need to be. You can see some guys who are sort of mesomorphic who are really good who are under 6'0". But not many over 6'0".
As far as form goes... there really isn't a good correlation between "form" and running economy when measured physiologically.
It matters. Most tall guys gravitate to sports that people actually pay attention to.
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HobbleCreek24 wrote:
This is very informal research but I just compiled the median heights of the Olympic 5k finalists. I couldn't find height for Lobalu, Dawit Seare and Oscar Chelimo.
[...]
The median height is 5'10". The average male height worldwide is 5'7.5" (I know, I switched up the metric, but the sample size is so much larger).
So I would still say that being slightly taller than average while not being extremely tall is a benefit.
Good start and good effort, but you are missing an important statistical concept.
Runners are not drawn from the same population as average male height globally, which includes many millions of people whose height is limited by deformities and/or malnourishment.
A better comparison would be Olympic 5k finalists vs a pool of runners, athletes more generally, or at least healthy adult males.
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age wrote:
She's taller, bigger, stronger than all her highschool competitors. Her physique looks 25 but she turned 18 in September 2024.
What set Usain Bolt apart, besides his talent, was his size. He was just totally different physique. We're seeing this with Jane.
There is no answer from the other girls. For another HS girl to touch her times in the future they need to be at least 6 foot, fast stride rate, and long legs. And, of course, basic talent.
Wouldn't be letsrun without a creepy body thread about a high school girl.
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clutch those pearls wrote:
HobbleCreek24 wrote:
This is very informal research but I just compiled the median heights of the Olympic 5k finalists. I couldn't find height for Lobalu, Dawit Seare and Oscar Chelimo.
[...]
The median height is 5'10". The average male height worldwide is 5'7.5" (I know, I switched up the metric, but the sample size is so much larger).
So I would still say that being slightly taller than average while not being extremely tall is a benefit.
Good start and good effort, but you are missing an important statistical concept.
Runners are not drawn from the same population as average male height globally, which includes many millions of people whose height is limited by deformities and/or malnourishment.
A better comparison would be Olympic 5k finalists vs a pool of runners, athletes more generally, or at least healthy adult males.
Ok, and do you have that number?
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