Take a handful of runners whom have always lived in city x. What factors most influences how well they run in hot weather?
Ethnicity?
Height/Weight?
Mental?
My friend says it is almost all mental, I think it is maybe half mental half physiological. Thoughts?
Height/weight or surface to mass ratio
a tall skinny runner will dissipate heat better than a thicker runner.
I do think that runners can psyche themselves out however.
In an acute setting, acclimation can also make a difference.
like none of it is mental, better surface area to volume ratio (skin surface area to body mass) disperses more heat so being generally smaller and lighter will help, you can also obviously become more efficient at running in the heat by training in it, blood plasma and sweat capacity increase generally in 2 weeks or less to adapt to the heat
You can't teach small.
Running in the heat and humidity sucks.
That is all.
As others have said, surface:mass ratio is of tremendous importance.
You also acclimate to heat, big time. An acclimated runner starts sweating earlier, sweats more volume, and loses less salt per oz of sweat.
Training in the heat will also significantly increase your total volume of blood plasma, which helps you stay cool (works like engine coolant - carries heat from organs to skin, where it can radiate more easily).
So train in the heat and drink lots of Gatorade...and get taller.
Some people also sweat more than others. I wouldn't hazard a guess if that is a trainable quality.
lolzzek wrote:
As others have said, surface:mass ratio is of tremendous importance.
You also acclimate to heat, big time. An acclimated runner starts sweating earlier, sweats more volume, and loses less salt per oz of sweat.
Training in the heat will also significantly increase your total volume of blood plasma, which helps you stay cool (works like engine coolant - carries heat from organs to skin, where it can radiate more easily).
So train in the heat and drink lots of Gatorade...and get taller.
Can't Take The Heat wrote:
Take a handful of runners whom have always lived in city x. What factors most influences how well they run in hot weather?
Ethnicity?
Height/Weight?
Mental?
My friend says it is almost all mental, I think it is maybe half mental half physiological. Thoughts?
Can't Take The Heat wrote:
Take a handful of runners whom have always lived in city x. What factors most influences how well they run in hot weather?
Ethnicity?
Height/Weight?
Mental?
My friend says it is almost all mental, I think it is maybe half mental half physiological. Thoughts?
Saying it's mental....is about as silly as saying that not be able to run under 16:00 for 5k is...mental.
In the preliminary heat, it's kind of the luck of the draw-a bunch of faster runners, you might get beat. A bunch of slower runners, you might win.
In the final heat, most of the slow guys were already eliminated in the preliminary heat, so your chances are not as good.
Your friend is right though, it's almost all mental.
[quote]adsadfsfas wrote:
Some people also sweat more than others. I wouldn't hazard a guess if that is a trainable quality.
[quote]lolzzek wrote:
^ This is huge. My dad loves running in heat and when he comes back from a run can wring out his shirt like a sponge. I am garbage in heat, and it's not like I don't sweat, but my shorts/shirt are almost never what you'd call saturated.
Chlorophyll ability…speed doubles in sunlight
All those things are irrelevant. The #1 factor is which ones pour the most water on their heads. People from the north can go their entire lives without figuring this out, even though they know they'll freeze their butts off if they go out in winter with soaking wet hair.
Watch a replay of the women's WC marathon last year. See what the Russian does with the water at each station. Pour first, drink second.
I have always ran well in heat compared. I think I have more square footage of sweat glands and sweat in all sorts of places
I think a lot of it has to do with sweating - some people sweat a lot more than others and they tend to race much better in the heat.
I barely sweat and have run all my PRs and had my best races in cold weather. I physically can't handle the heat, it's not mental. I have friends that sweat a lot and they run their best races in hot weather.
Maybe it has something to do with perspiring but that wouldn't help in linger distances. I would think body fat % plays a factor. I have a lot of body fat for a runner and I suffer more than anyone in the heat.
Ive been curious about this too.
I'm awful in the heat. sweat gallons. whereas I have some friends who don't sweat much because they just don't seem to get as hot. what gives?
Former competitive runner wrote: I think a lot of it has to do with sweating - some people sweat a lot more than others and they tend to race much better in the heat.
As a runner who massively sweats but cannot race well in heat, I think the physiology is more complicated than mere sweat glands.
Some runners seem to perform at their PB in heat. Most fall well short. Thus in the famously hot Boston Marathon of 1976 (over 100 degrees), Jack Fultz ran around his PB of 2:20+ and won against a field, including Jack Foster and Amby Burfoot, that drastically underperformed. The next year in ordinary temperatures, he again ran around 2:20 (actually a few seconds slower) and came in 12th.
I think some runners are genetically adapted to the heat. Kenyans in general seem to have no special advantage in the heat, but Sammy Wanjiru ran close to his PB in the heat of Beijing and won in 2:06.
Heat radically separates the running world into two groups: the heat adaptive and the heat sinks.
GG
and fyi I love running in the cold. I typically do 40 degree runs in a tshirt and shorts..
this isn't bragging. I live in Georgia and lose months of decent training bci can't handle the heat.
to the person who says it's mental....no
ever notice that East Africans train in jackets and long pants half the time despite the hot weather? maybe theyre on to something there...