[Streako]

I am about 5'7", and currently around 10st.

I was wondering what sort of weight a proficient male runner would be for my height. I am mainly interested in anything up to 10k, especially off-road hilly stuff, but I think I am carrying too much muscle mass for hill climbing.
I also compete in off-road duathlons, so my thighs are bulky with all the cycling.

Any suggestions?


Thanks...

 

[cheriton]

I am about 5'7", and currently around 10st.

I was wondering what sort of weight a proficient male runner would be for my height. I am mainly interested in anything up to 10k, especially off-road hilly stuff, but I think I am carrying too much muscle mass for hill climbing.
I also compete in off-road duathlons, so my thighs are bulky with all the cycling.

Any suggestions?


Thanks...

You sound about right to me i certainly wouldn't call myself big. i'm the same hight as you but about a/stone heavier just did a half marathon time of 1.33.49 as for the hill issue the secret is to run up them a lot .
I tend to run easy two thirds the way and hard for the last third it works for me anyhow !.

My best advice would be not to let negative thoughts ie muscle mass issues stop you .

Your muscles will surely adapt over a period of time if you train to do hill work!

Hope it goes well

god luck with the 10k

Cheriton

 

[richardsimkiss]

Streako, you sound like a pretty darn healthy weight for a competitive runner...

I'm 5'10" and 12st7lb... that's definately heavier than I'd like to be - but sadly there's not a huge amount one can do about it other than keep on exercising. In comparison, Seb Coe was 120lb (8st8lb?) and was also 5'10"

In answer to your question - I'd suggest sending a PM to 'Luthor1' who's quite the whizz with running stats n stuff, I'm sure he'd be able to answer your question in a flash. Sadly he doesn't seem to be on the forum too often (hence why I suggest PM'ing him)

Hope that helps! :d

 

[team-lewis.co.uk]

I'm 6ft and 68kg. I'm a triathlete so I have a bit more weight to carry then fellow runners, however running up hils is more about technique than anything else. I usually find myself catching a lot of people on the ups! It depends what you class as proficient, some of the guys in my group weigh about 60kg and are the same height and run 30/31 for 10k. Olly is another triathlete, he weighs around 63kg on race day and he's about 5'8. He's running 15:04 for 5k which is pretty rapid too. So you're in the right ball park, mind you it depends on where you have the weight too and what your body is like.

If you want to get quicker then learn how to run up hills. And find a route with different grades, and lengths and do reps of them. When I was living in Devon last year I had a run with 5 different hills in it and I would rep each one 3 building to 5 times as the year progressed. But you really need to work hard up the hills, be on your toes leaning forward, having good rotation in your upper body to help your legs drive off the ground. Also you want to work on shortening your stride and increasing the cadence and if the hill flattens at the top drive and accelerate over the top of it.

 

[luthor1]

For a "normal" non atheletic male, allow 110lbs for the first 5feet, then 5.5lbs for each subsequent inch. This gives you 148lbs or so.

A competitive runner will be around 5-10% less than this so at the extreme end of that you could be 9st7lbs. This should be your minimum (although world record holders and top-edge pro's will be a small amount less). At 10st carrying some thigh muscle, you are probably about bang on to be honest!

As for running hills, the best advice I can think of that hasn't been said is to find a hill to run and run over it, don't stop at the top, run hard the following 200yds or so beyond the peak, this will give you the edge on race-day

Nice work!
Luthor

 

[Dave]

I do wish you wouldn`t do this to me Luther.

I thought I had 10lbs to lose.

Turns out I need to lose another stone after that.

It aint gonna happen....................:d



Anyway the wife wouldn`t want me that slim............

 

[richardsimkiss]

Another 2 stone for me to be competitive then

 

[team-lewis.co.uk]

By my recconing I'm 149 lbs and pretty much 6ft. I would be lighter but for the fact I swim and cycle. Still it's under the 170 mark by over 10%. Which is why I am pro I guess.

 

[pedestrian]

I'm 5'7" myself, and when I was racing at my best, my weight was around 9st 3lb.
I don't think there's anything wrong with your weight, or your "muscle mass". Having "bulky" thighs should be an advantage for hill-climbing, I would've thought.
I think you're worrying too much; I think you'll be OK.

 

[Streako]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I recently put on about half a stone when my parents visited for a week, and the difference in my performance has been drastic.
The first time I went out after they departed I couldnt even do my usual route without stopping every ten minutes. I felt sick, very out of breath and worst of all, my knee started playing up and I had to cut the run short.

Target weight is now 9.5 stone.

 

[elliot22]

I am actually having the unusual problem of wondering whether I'm too light!
I'm about 5'9 and last time I checked I was about 9 stone 4.
I actually considered not running because I thought it would go against me gaining weight which is what I want to do.
Is this unhealthy?
If so, what can I do? I deliberately eat as much as I can during the day without feeling ill and I have started to do about 15 minutes weight-lifting daily.
Should I just carry on as I am?

 

[luthor1]

You need to get your % body fat measured. Actual "weight" is less important if you are concerned at all about your health.

If you are 8-18% body fat you can consider yourself pretty much bang on healthy.

Once you are questioning whether you are *healthy* that's a different question to "what's my ideal race weight" so since it's a health question, get yourself down the gym and get a % bodyfat properly measured.

You want to gain weight? But why? would you like more fat on your body? If so - for what reason. If you want more muscle, then it's weights and high protein diet, but avoid falling into what you should and shouldn't weigh, listen to your body and if you % fat is too low that's a warinng sign.

In terms of this thread, we are discussing the ideal weight to be highly competitive, and since it takes energy to move mass the lighter the better, but not at the expense of health.

The other thing to consider is "normal". Normal is bandied around too much for my liking, because "normla" (the average over all the population) is now FAT, and it's getting worse.

Better to use "healthy"

Luthor

 

[Revenged]

if you don't eat enough, you're body utilises muscle protein as an energy source and if so you are running, you need to increase the amount you are eating anyway (even more important if you are already underweight !)... but seriously unless you are competitive runner it doesn't really matter what you weigh... i've improved my times by minutes and my weight as remained unchanged but have more muscle mass than i did when i started 6 months ago...

and another thing... i think it's wrong to assume weight is indicative of health... cardiovascular disorders - stroke, hypertention, coronary heart disease - are caused because of lack of cardiovascular activity and not from being overweight...