Are you guys content with how you look as a distance runner?

Grenio, you know what I mean. And that is pretty funny tbh...

But, any runner who is serious about improving themselves and does the miles will certainly be able to run a 100 or 200m faster than the average person. And that's all I want to prove because this is our trade - running, and we are supposed to be good at it.

You never see sprinters or sprinter middle distance runners without showing off their arms. It's the signaling that having muscles means you're a strength/power runner and not an endurance runner.

The lean, svelte body of a distance runner gets underestimated by bystanders, hecklers, and random strangers.

For instance, I was running around Harvard Square in Boston and I was listening to music, and almost all of the reactions I could see running past them indicated this feeling: "aww look at him" and I think they were grinning or smiling. Basically I felt effeminate? I was listening to Breaking Benjamin and doing fartleks and speed intervals at 90% max heart rate. I thought I was the shit.

Distance runners can look badass if they're all veiny and sweating, but if they don't get to that point of overexertion that shows they're mentally tough and physically disciplined, they're just very lean people that haven't yet worked up a sweat.

Would you heckle a distance runner if he had guns for biceps?

Or would you more likely heckle a distance runner if he didn't have upper body musculature?

Lazlo Simmons wrote:

OK, it has to be said: Beyond a very initial impression, women don't care as much about body type as men think. Men notice each others size more than women, as part of the 'where do I stand in the jungle hierarchy' thing.

If women are not attracted to you, it likely has more to do with the insecure and passive vibe you project and the fact that you don't seem interesting or fun.

I think it has to be the "whole package"....no pun intended.

5'9" 156. I'd like to lose another 10 but it'd be a lot of muscle since I'm close to 7% body fat. Non-running people already think I'm really small.

The girls sure think so when they see my junk flopping around in my shorts.

Just carry a gun. Then you don't need to look muscular.

Fast Ass wrote:

Would you heckle a distance runner if he had guns for biceps?

Or would you more likely heckle a distance runner if he didn't have upper body musculature?

I've seen those dudes with big "guns" (i.e., pipes) all the time. They're sleek with ripped abs, broad shoulders, big traps and shredded quads. They run with their shirt off, hat on backwards, wear expensive sunglasses & ultra-short running shorts, and usually sport a tattoo or two. 😎

Fast Ass wrote:

Would you heckle a distance runner if he had guns for biceps?

Or would you more likely heckle a distance runner if he didn't have upper body musculature?

I've seen those dudes with big "guns" (i.e., pipes) all the time. They're sleek with ripped abs, broad shoulders, big traps and shredded quads. They run with their shirt off, hat on backwards, wear expensive sunglasses & ultra-short running shorts, and usually sport a tattoo or two. 😎

You might try adding more upper extremity weight training in the off-season, and then as you add running miles in-season some (but not all) of that weight will come off. The nice thing about that is you will actually look bigger as you drop 5-7 pounds, with more striation/veins with your lower BF percentage.

I run marathons (not fast by LR standards, but BQ times), and I lift weights a lot. I'm a lot more impressed by dudes that are lean and cut than the typical bench-press fat-gut crowd.

If I see a guy who is fit and lean then I respect that because I have an idea what it takes to get there. And women (the fit, active ones who you want to attract and impress) also respect that type of guy for the same reason. Who cares what some fat dude thinks about you?

I agree 1,000 percent. If someone is really "ripped" and muscular or if they are lean/in shape/fit I have mutual respect. Both are hard to achieve.

All runners are different. When it comes to looks, it seems that setting a standard by looks is self-limiting.

As I have described before, I am 5'8" and weigh about 172.

It is likely, by my looks, that many will not seriously believe I can run a long distance without fracturing a hip, leg or what have you.

But looks are just looks and do not say much.

In my last marathon on 6/4, I went through the first half in 1:44:32

At mile 15, I was at 2:01:16

Then I alternated between running or walking and was still at under 3 hours (2:57:32) by mile 20.

I finished in 4:09:58, 28 minutes better than my previous best.

The lesson here is that looks did not cause improvement, muscular to fat ratios did not cause improvement, but training did.

Never worry about looks. Just run.

"Btw, that "never underestimate your opponent" line came from Patrick Swayze in that famous scene from "Road House" "

Never seen that movie, but good to know that there are script writers that have common sense.

Bottom line, I can hold my own just fine, and I have never backed when threatened. Most of the aggressors are cowards, and if they face even a tiny possibility of being hurt, they buckle up.

Stoppit Smith wrote:

All runners are different. When it comes to looks, it seems that setting a standard by looks is self-limiting.

As I have described before, I am 5'8" and weigh about 172.

It is likely, by my looks, that many will not seriously believe I can run a long distance without fracturing a hip, leg or what have you.

But looks are just looks and do not say much.

In my last marathon on 6/4, I went through the first half in 1:44:32

At mile 15, I was at 2:01:16

Then I alternated between running or walking and was still at under 3 hours (2:57:32) by mile 20.

I finished in 4:09:58, 28 minutes better than my previous best.

The lesson here is that looks did not cause improvement, muscular to fat ratios did not cause improvement, but training did.

Never worry about looks. Just run.

I think you have to be somewhat attracted physically first to want to at least approach them, then you can decide if you want to proceed with a conversation or not.

You know, road races aren't beauty competitions. Anyone who heckles people for running or being skinny is a loser anyways. I'm a lot more content than I would be being an average weight lifter.

Forrest child wrote:

Bottom line, I can hold my own just fine, and I have never backed when threatened. Most of the aggressors are cowards, and if they face even a tiny possibility of being hurt, they buckle up.

I don't think you've seen a lot of these aggressors types; bodybuilders, powerlifters, UFC fighters, etc...general overall tough guys. A lot of them on roids & T, and they can be very aggressive...who would have thought? Go to a popular gym and you'll see these tough guys everywhere. I'd rather run away from these monsters than face them...as they say; "feet don't fail me now!" 😄

Guys, guys, guys. No, a true distance runner physique is attractive to nobody.

I raced 5k-half marathon on the roads from about 21-28, since I kept enjoying the training after my first degree and it worked with with grad school. I never quite made my goal of breaking 15:00 or 1:10:00, but I enjoyed it a lot.

When I felt like I wasn't going to get much more out of myself, I started lifting heavy (StrongLifts 5x5 program) and just kept average-joe fitness aerobically by biking to work and jogging a few times a week.

At 6'1", I went from 150 pounds to 170 over the course of about three years. Back then, I looked like the guy in split shorts wining your local 5k. Now at 32 I look like a 400m runner, and trust me the attention from women has changed for the better. I had a hookup with this girl I was many years ago, and she couldn't stop going on about "what I had done with my body."

Do what you have to do to run fast. But when those goals fade in your mind, enjoy applying that work ethic having an amazing body. Which is NOT a distance runner's body.

" I don't think you've seen a lot of these aggressors types; bodybuilders, powerlifters..."

Quite the contrary, I have seen a lot of these types. Some were idiots, many were not. It helps, if you are not a jerk and don't judge by the looks. Then you can meet a lot of different personalities. I don't judge them, they don't judge me, and if you are a sports fan, you can find a common interest and learn something from a different sport. You either are confident enough to be a calm guy despite being a featherweight, or you are constantly trying to prove yourself and come off as a jerk (and guess who is most likely to be picked on?).

Where do you think I have gotten contact on Krav maga expert and instructor years ago? From UFC fighter I had met in the bar. BTW, interesting guy. You cannot use much from Krav Maga in UFC fight, but boy, is it effective, if you use it without warning in situations, where you have no other choice.

Steroids don't make you a jerk, they just exaggerate what traits you have anyway.

Those guys are all roid monsters. You should ask them what happened to their berries, because I am pretty sure they shriveled up and disappeared, just like Jose Canseco's. Without massive amounts of drugs there are no 260 pound lean guys in nature."[O]ne definite side effect of steroid use is the atrophying of your testicles." Interesting read:http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2005/02/the_juice_and_i.html

beergutkid wrote:

There are males that are a lean 260 lb. That's actually a thing-260 lb athletic types are more common than you know. I've accepted though that the best I can be is roughly 215 lb at 10% body fat. Whatever! You just have to live life and accept the cards you're dealt with.

Look slow. Run fast.

Trolljo wrote:

Look slow. Run fast.

Something like this?