Obese 240 lbs guy at my work claims to have run a sub 5 mile at his current weight. How plausible is this?

How about you? Do you have a verifiable video showing you at that weight running 4:57? I'm skeptical based on the fact you're saying you accomplished that on 400m training and "really only a few weeks of some mediocre distance running." And Hardee is just a few pounds heavier than you but 5 inches taller. It's not just the body weight but the frame it's on. I'm 6-0, 212, played strong safety at the college level, ran the 400 in HS, and no way could I break 5 mins in a mile with any amount of distance training.

I was just thinking of Jurgen Hingson as well. His 1500 PR is 4:21.59 and he is listed at 225 lbs. That's still 15 lbs lighter than 240, though.

Yes! wrote:

I was just thinking of Jurgen Hingson as well. His 1500 PR is 4:21.59 and he is listed at 225 lbs. That's still 15 lbs lighter than 240, though.

He was listed at 220...and is 6 ft 7 in tall!

I worked in a running store once and this guy comes in and is telling us about how fast he's running on a treadmill at a gym.

He had just started running and he was a big guy- not fat but football player big.

He's telling us about how he runs 15 miles a day at these ungodly paces.

He's telling us how when the spring races start he's gonna be beating all of us fast runners.

He showed up to one race, was nowhere near anyone then disappeared forever.

Each year, the basketball team at my college has to run a mile (1600m) time trial on a 160 meter indoor track. The coach just assumes it's a 200 meter track, and has the guys run eight laps. Although the guys are all in excellent shape, the whole team always manages to put up some amazing "mile" times. I think they all run under 6:00.

I'd say it depends, with a heavy emphasis on that last word.

Right now I'm 210 and crush treadmills for an hour at 10mph pace. That being said I was on the varsity track and cross teams for five years. When I moved cities and got a real job, I started lifting weights the days I couldn't run due to timing. Over the years I've put on weight (muscle) but kept running and cycling when I could (minimum of five times per week).

If someone can find a picture of the starting line of the 2007 Chicago Marathon, you'll see me, I'm the white guy that looks like a linebacker compared to everyone else. Back then I was 170lbs and qualified (just squeaked in) for the top 100 of that marathon.

All I know is that when I was a senior in high school I was 5' 11" and 155 lbs and I was able to run 59 sec for 400M, 2:11 for 800M and 4:53 for 1600M. I for many years have now been closer to 220 lbs and sub 5 is no where near my capabilities.

kladner wrote:

i call bs wrote:

OR you're exaggerating about his weight. If he goes to the gym and plays basketball on a regular basis it's tough to imagine that he's really that fat. 240 is pretty huge.

I didn't weigh him, but he said he's 240 lbs. The only other "proof" he showed me was that 240 lb reading on his driver's license (not on a scale). I don't know about 240, but he looks pretty big and is at least 210-220.

In any case, that weight seems to be muscle and not fat. He doesn't have a beer belly.

Are any decathletes that heavy?

"Geoff Capes age 17 6'6" 245lbs running the mile in 4:48 wow! and then he went on to put the shot 71'1" in his career".

The heaviest man to break a 5 minute mile however was a 295 lb 6'3" Mike Ward (4:59.9)

This has nothing to do with the subject but the age 3 mile world record is 9:52.2 - pretty close to the age 90 World record.

Wait you actually witnessed a video of him running the 800 in 2:13? At 5'11" and 240 lbs, that's pretty impressive. Of course, it's also a pretty steep drop-off from his 56-sec quarter speed, as one would expect of a man with his proportions. I doubt he can run sub-5. But with a 2:13 800m time, I bet he could get in the ball park of 5:00

kladner wrote:

i call bs wrote:

I thought he was "obese?"

His BMI is over 30, so that's why I called him obese. 240 lbs can actually be merely "overweight" if you're taller than 6'3".

BMI is outdated crap. It doesn't take muscle mass or true body fat percentages into account. Either way, the guy didn't run sub 5. Dunk his head in a dirty toilet.

redmeansdead wrote:

Wait you actually witnessed a video of him running the 800 in 2:13? At 5'11" and 240 lbs, that's pretty impressive. Of course, it's also a pretty steep drop-off from his 56-sec quarter speed, as one would expect of a man with his proportions. I doubt he can run sub-5. But with a 2:13 800m time, I bet he could get in the ball park of 5:00

Yup. The cameraman pans away from him and towards the other runners at the 200 and 600m marks, so there is a chance that he cut across the track at those times. But I doubt it, as his position relative to the other runners didn't change much throughout the race.

Yes, you will constantly run into this. I had a friend who said he could run 3 miles in 12 minutes. He was not

even out for a sport in high school when he told me that. I asked a teammate in front of him and the teammate's

quote was "maybe he can."

I've seen many people cheat in the bench press and when doing pushups. Those exercises are easy to cheat in, there are multiple ways to cheat.

Of course you can say anything. "I cannot bench 500 pounds," is a good joke between friends.

Viada could enter a 5k any weekend or run a mile at an all-comers meet any week during the summer, but we're just supposed to take his word on his PRs run all alone and his performance at real races is nowhere near his unobserved runs because reasons. Seems like a common pattern among internet fitness celebrities.

runn wrote:

I worked in a running store once and this guy comes in and is telling us about how fast he's running on a treadmill at a gym.

He had just started running and he was a big guy- not fat but football player big.

He's telling us about how he runs 15 miles a day at these ungodly paces.

He's telling us how when the spring races start he's gonna be beating all of us fast runners.

He showed up to one race, was nowhere near anyone then disappeared forever.

I read this post and imagined the guy pulling ahead of everyone and no one catching up. He finished so far ahead of everyone he was gone by the time 2nd place crossed. Did he buy more shoes?

Fit Ness wrote:

Alex Viada wrote:

I am the real Alex Viada, a.k.a. Alexander Viada, and you can see my results here:

https://ultrasignup.com/results_participant.aspx?fname=Alexander&lname=Viada

And that 11:42 50 miler is actually 9:38 because I stopped for over 2 hours to administer CPR and save the life of a dying runner and also carried one of my clients for an hour after we both broke our legs.

Here are my real times (if link works):

http://oi66.tinypic.com/2vb0plj.jpg

Viada could enter a 5k any weekend or run a mile at an all-comers meet any week during the summer, but we're just supposed to take his word on his PRs run all alone and his performance at real races is nowhere near his unobserved runs because reasons. Seems like a common pattern among internet fitness celebrities.

Alex Viada once had a conversation with a blogger and made the offhand remark that he had once ran a 4:15 miler downhill in his younger days. The blogger then posted that Viada was claiming to be a 4:15 miler. This went viral and became a sort of meme, including that he ran it as a 230lber (as he is now) with a dislocated hip etc (injuries he picked up later). He states that he has NEVER posted here on LetsRun. If you follow him on social media you'll see that he's clearly a knowledgeable and honest guy and not somebody to make up tall stories like this.