Is there a ideal height weight for running?

Question

I was wondering if there is a ideal height and weight that will allow you to get the most out of running. I am 6 feet 2 inches and weigh 170,. I can't seem to do that great no matter how much I train. I can do a 5k in around 22 minutes, but I can't seem to get my time down. Is it because I am not cut out for it? should I just do a different sport for my last year of highschool or should I just stick with it?

Answer 1

if your talking about track. height makes a difference. if u take a small towel swing it and take a large towel swing it. u will see the difference. what happens is the taller the person, the more wind or air is push that person. people with hair on their legs have the same problem. for sports, with your height basketball, football, baseball are good options for u. i would think u would accomplish more than running.

Answer 2

There is no ideal height or weight. Most of the sub-4 milers have been about your height (maybe just a tad shorter).

However, genetics play a critical role — the best thing anybody can do to be a great distance runner is to choose their parents wisely. You can take almost anybody and train him to be a sub-4-hour marathoner, but only the cream of the genetic crop are going to run it under three hours.

Force of will, after a certain point, plays only a small role.

You can, however, improve your time with dogged effort, but your 5K time is not good for this stage in your career. It may not be the best race for you. Speed work certainly should help, but I think a lot of coaches like too much speed work at the expense of much needed continuous aerobic running (CAR).

I don't know how far you are running in practice, but my senior year was peppered with lots of 10-mile runs (striving to finish in an hour). Lots of times my last mile came in under five minutes. In cross country, in those days, we ran 2.5 miles. When I made the switch to the five-mile race at college I hardly took notice. Five mile races were no harder than the 2.5s. How's your half-marathon time? How many miles will you average a day this summer. There is no substitute for getting out on the road and getting in some miles.

That said, is running something you enjoy? If you don't enjoy it, why do you run?

Answer 3

I have read that for every pound you loose you can take about 2 seconds per mile off your time.  Of course that is just an estimate, and there would be differences from fat loss and muscle loss.  I have also heard that about 143 lbs is the lowest weight a man would want to get, after that you loose too much muscle and your times will actually get slower.