Friend disagrees with me on what a pro marathon runner weighs

I have always heard that a professional marathon should be approximately their height converted to inches times 2

So 5 foot 8 inches equals 68 inches so their weight should be approximately 136 pounds.

However that is probably street gossip.

Ryan Hall our best marathoner was like 5'11" and 135 lbs with a naturally athletic build in his so called marathon prime. Look at him now... No body image dysmorphia at all, no eating disorders, no low t, psyche! That guy was so stressed at that marathon weight.

It's amazing when someone will argue with you about something that is verifiable fact, not a matter of opinion or interpretation. The OP's "friend" is simply wrong.

Scale checker wrote:

You are both a bit off. Meb is 5'6" and he raced around 120. The other poster who mentioned 130 for 5'9" is right. Obviously some variation but 5'9" and 145 is too heavy. 120 for 5'9" is unlikely.

130 for 5'9 is right. I'm 5'9 I could see a guy with a smaller frame in the mid 120s but the teens would be insanely skinny. I could see up to 135 but 145 would be unnecessary weight for a marathon.

fisky wrote:

A few years ago, I did a warmup jog behind a group of B-level Kenyans prior to our local marathon.

I'd seen pictures of Kenyan marathoners, of course, but I was shocked at how skinny they were in real life. Their lower legs were nothing but bones covered with skin, except for a tiny calf muscle right below the knee that was about the size... not exaggerating... of a half of a tennis ball.

We were about the same height. I weighed about 135. These guys were 100-110 pounds.

Running twice a day, and working 4 hours in the fields whilst eating only one meal a day causes that.

Not everyone can afford EPO!

Primo Numero Uno wrote:

Scale checker wrote:

You are both a bit off. Meb is 5'6" and he raced around 120. The other poster who mentioned 130 for 5'9" is right. Obviously some variation but 5'9" and 145 is too heavy. 120 for 5'9" is unlikely.

130 for 5'9 is right. I'm 5'9 I could see a guy with a smaller frame in the mid 120s but the teens would be insanely skinny. I could see up to 135 but 145 would be unnecessary weight for a marathon.

Muscle is an unnecessary item for the 'thon. That is why I hate the event.

One should only run a marathon if you have a chance to win.

Marathon Runner wrote:

Okay so i have a friend who is 5'9" and about 145. The other day he tells me he plans on running a marathon in the future. He goes on to say that he weighs around what a pro marathon runner would weigh. I laugh at him and tell him that a 5'9" pro marathon runner would weigh anywhere between 115 to 125 pounds. He still does not believe me.

You are correct. This was on the telecast today:

fisky wrote:

A few years ago, I did a warmup jog behind a group of B-level Kenyans prior to our local marathon.

I'd seen pictures of Kenyan marathoners, of course, but I was shocked at how skinny they were in real life. Their lower legs were nothing but bones covered with skin, except for a tiny calf muscle right below the knee that was about the size... not exaggerating... of a half of a tennis ball.

We were about the same height. I weighed about 135. These guys were 100-110 pounds.

I had a similar experience and saw a 2:07 Kenyan running a half marathon, and I could not believe how paper thin he was. He looked way different on TV which definitely added at least 15 pounds. He had quite a stride too.

Not an authority at all wrote:

Primo Numero Uno wrote:

130 for 5'9 is right. I'm 5'9 I could see a guy with a smaller frame in the mid 120s but the teens would be insanely skinny. I could see up to 135 but 145 would be unnecessary weight for a marathon.

Muscle is an unnecessary item for the 'thon. That is why I hate the event.

One should only run a marathon if you have a chance to win.

Toshihiko Seko was about 5'7 and 135-140 ibs. Here is him beating Juma Ikangaa, I would guess he probably weighed at least 10 ibs less than Seko.

rojo wrote:

Marathon Runner wrote:

Okay so i have a friend who is 5'9" and about 145. The other day he tells me he plans on running a marathon in the future. He goes on to say that he weighs around what a pro marathon runner would weigh. I laugh at him and tell him that a 5'9" pro marathon runner would weigh anywhere between 115 to 125 pounds. He still does not believe me.

You are correct. This was on the telecast today:

https://twitter.com/letsrundotcom/status/1117792739700215809

You can hide a lot with averages. I would love to see a dual axis line chart of height/weight overlayed for the elite runners to get a better picture of the data.

Hmmmmmm wrote:

rojo wrote:

You are correct. This was on the telecast today:

https://twitter.com/letsrundotcom/status/1117792739700215809

You can hide a lot with averages. I would love to see a dual axis line chart of height/weight overlayed for the elite runners to get a better picture of the data.

I'm 5ft 10 and weigh 157 during my last marathon cycle . I was actually skin and bone couldn't imagine dropping another 20 lbs.

145 is a common weight for 6 foot tall marathoners, or even 140. not for someone that is 5'9

I’d say 130 at 6ft would be marathon lean. I think Galen is a about that weight.

I don’t buy the argument you lose power or get sick. Plenty of slow chubby people get hurt and sick. I’m not saying it would be fun or enjoyable to get that lean, but don’t argue with physics. For every thick person that has run fast there are 50 lean people who run faster. If you look at Moen and the Robertson’s they are crazy lean for white dudes. They had to suffer to get that skinny. Paula was a rail. Jordan is tiny. Joanne B is tiny. Meb is tiny. Kipchoge is a skeleton.

If you look at the front guys and gals today at Boston the ones near the front were tiny, and if the pace had been 3-4 minutes faster it would have been even more selective. I don’t think your going to see a human run 2:04 in the marathon who weighs 140-150. The person who breaks 2 hours will be closer to 100pds than 150.

running talent = skinniness

There's a fair amount of variation, someone like Bekele has bulkier legs and might be a bit bulkier overall than someone like Mo Farah (for their heights). FWIW, I'm 5'11" and ran my best when I was somewhere around 128-130 pounds.

Null hypothesis wrote:

running talent = skinniness

Error.

Marathon talent = skinniness

David Rudisha doesnt run the marathon

David Rudisha is the most talented runner in the world

Were you under the impression that jogging for two plus hours is a measure of human running talent??

Japanese guys weight 105 to 115 w/ the except of Yuki the fatty.

Athletes wrote:

Null hypothesis wrote:

running talent = skinniness

Error.

Marathon talent = skinniness

David Rudisha doesnt run the marathon

David Rudisha is the most talented runner in the world

Were you under the impression that jogging for two plus hours is a measure of human running talent??

David Rudisha is a middle distance runner...one of the greatest of all time. 6'3" 168lb. But his marathon would only be like 2:20. Pick and choose a distnace. But marathons are way more of an impact on the world than the 800.

Moo Goo wrote:

Japanese guys weight 105 to 115 w/ the except of Yuki the fatty.

Yuki is about the same size as Toshihiko Seko.