Heaviest person to break 3 hour marathon?

HaileUnlikely wrote:

Also, a very good New England area (Rhode Island, I think) masters runner named Keven O'Neill comes to mind. Not tall, not jacked, not fat, but just generally a big guy (built kind of like a bear) ran in the low/mid 2:20s when he was in his early- to mid- thirties. I don't know how much he weighed but would not be surprised if he was around 200 pounds.

Is there a typo in this? This seems a little unbelievable.

Hobby Runner wrote:

Former Defensive End. Played at 275lbs (6'4"). Now down to 215ish. Best is 3:23 mid in mid 30s off of 65-75mpw.

I understand the naive nature of comments such as "any healthy blah blah blah should be able to go sub 3 rather easily", but those posters may kindly go play in traffic.

Thank you for saying this. Many overlook the talent that a lot of the runners here have, but the truth is that some people are inherently much faster than others. I would imagine that many in other sports have the same attitudes. It's kind of funny that it's human nature to want what others have while we ignore our own talents (as relative as they may be).

I ran a sub-3 marathon in my 30s at 6'2" 225.' I was benching 525 at the time and squatting 10 X 225. I was actually mad because I had run a 3:49 mile solo on my own a week before the marathon.

You know everyone should wear the Nike NXN shoes I wear because they are light and yet have great cushioning. I don't know why I'm the only person who wears them!

I'm self-coached. My Daddy beat me up and kicked me out of the house when I was 15. I taught myself how to run fast. I ran under 10 seconds for 100 meters at 17 but I was not in school so did not run on the track team.

I'm about 255 right now and could easily break 3 hours for the marathon but I'm thinking about training for the Western 100 instead. I'm pretty sure I could run that in less than 9 hours.

Terry V, is that you?Or maybe it's Mike R or Rob Young. Maybe B Lawlor.

Hungry for weird facts wrote:

HaileUnlikely wrote:

Also, a very good New England area (Rhode Island, I think) masters runner named Keven O'Neill comes to mind. Not tall, not jacked, not fat, but just generally a big guy (built kind of like a bear) ran in the low/mid 2:20s when he was in his early- to mid- thirties. I don't know how much he weighed but would not be surprised if he was around 200 pounds.

Is there a typo in this? This seems a little unbelievable.

I know him, he ran those times but nowhere near 200. 160's

Yeah, I know a 175 lb guy who ran like 2:40. He's about 6'4" though.

This is one of those Original Messages where people have fun putting out far out answers that no one could prove.

If you ran naked in a marathon wouldn't the police have stopped you?

One guy said someone ran a marathon at 250 pounds, AND ALSO finished in less than 3 hours.

Sure, shure, show me the proof!!!

Marine Corps Marathon Clydesdale results:

No Oall Fn Ln S Ag Wgt City St Time Net Pace

====== ===== ========================= ========================== = == === ============================== == ======= ======= =====

114 41 ERIC WYLER M 28 185 WATERTOWN MA 2:47:11 2:47:09 6:23

5237 54 ALEXANDER HETHERINGTON M 49 195 VIENNA VA 2:50:35 2:50:35 6:31

13656 91 THOMAS SCOVEL M 29 185 JACKSONVILLE FL 2:57:57 2:57:38 6:47

6687 115 BRADLEY BROOKS M 22 185 WESTMINSTER MD 3:02:02 3:00:09 6:53

60 118 CHRISTOPHER SPRINGER M 35 195 PORTLAND OR 3:00:28 3:00:24 6:53

25072 136 MATTHEW DENT M 42 190 BALTIMORE MD 3:04:25 3:03:12 7:00

Hetherington ran 2:50 at 195 lbs at age 49. btw, he's in the MCM hall of fame or something like that.

There are a number of marathons that have Clyde categories, some of them have weigh-ins. I'd look there for verified times rather than some Alex Viada type story that's hard to believe.

Hungry for weird facts wrote:

Who has the World's Heaviest Sub-3 marathon?

All the runners I know who have done it are 150 lbs or less...

There's gotta be some decently heavy dudes at Boston who dipped below 3...

Copy of a post from 3 months ago. Same final conclusion. Over 6ft and ~ 200lbs seems feasible. Look to races with "clydesdale" divisions for more details.

2:59

5'10"

175

39 yrs old

In the 80s Runner's World had a story about heavy marathoners. There was a guy called Rick Brandl who was maybe 5'10"and 180 who'd done 2:24. I would bounce around between 160 and 170 at 5'10" and had 2:35 and 2:41 then. Ron Clarke was 165 and did 2:20 but I think he was 6'1".

HRE wrote:

In the 80s Runner's World had a story about heavy marathoners. There was a guy called Rick Brandl who was maybe 5'10"and 180 who'd done 2:24. I would bounce around between 160 and 170 at 5'10" and had 2:35 and 2:41 then. Ron Clarke was 165 and did 2:20 but I think he was 6'1".

Rick Brandl is 6'4" according to this website.

It looks like he was a high school basketball star.

I know RW had him at under 6 feet but they could have been wrong. I don't know what the odds are of finding that issue again to double check. Anyway, we know that Clayton got well under 3:00 at 160 lbs.

Jack Bacheler was 6'6-1/2" and weighed 170. He may be one of the heaviest and skinniest American Olympic marathoners.

http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/jack-bacheler-1.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LkdpPXd1P9c/VBWykAVjUHI/AAAAAAAAGck/i9rABaPW03w/s1600/jack%2Band%2Bfrank.jpg

Back in 1982, when I was 36, I ran a marathon in 2:56.25 at about 5'10" and 158. Never ran another, knees could not take the pounding of training. In college in 1968, I long jumped 24'4" albeit with a strong wind at my back, but I had legal jumps nearly as far. Does anyone know of anyone else who has long jumped over 24 feet and also run a sub-three hour marathon?

I recall hearing about a 300 lb retired NFL lineman cranking out a sub-3.👍

Thunder Thighs wrote:

I recall hearing about a 300 lb retired NFL lineman cranking out a sub-3.👍

The Alan Page story via the telephone game?

Clean or any PEDs involved?

150 is light. 3 hours is slow. wrote:

I did 2:42 at 6'0", 158.

Lightweight. I'm 6'2" and was 185 when I ran 2:44.