Not looking like a runner
After a 2-year break, the 2023 Cebu City Marathon fires off on January 8, 2023 and welcomes an estimated close to 10,000 runners that has the course running thru the 8.9km CCLEX (Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway).
I have several friends and acquaintances with varied shapes, sizes and ages that had been training for this event, not really for fininshing with the elites of the sport but for the thrill of being part of a big and famous Cebuano year-starter event.
Considering the shape and size aspect, those people who make a living out of running always have that famine-stricken body look. Yes, wiry and skinny.
A recent Spanish study was done on 30 male volunteers with different body shapes and ran on various speeds. At moderate speeds, there was no difference among the volunteers. Reaching 85% effort (working hard) and 100% effort (all-out race pace) those with relatively narrow and flat torsos (that part of the body from the ribcage and the waist) are the fastest body type.
These body types contributes to what elite runners call running efficiency, the way our bodies use oxygen (VO2 max). There is also the ratio of “fast twitch” muscle fiber (sprinting) and “slow twitch” muscle fiber (distance running).
But we don’t necessarily have to look like the malnourished type to be a runner as scientific research had shown that running does improve our health and helps us live longer. No matter our shapes, running starts not in the legs but on the core, say the coaches. A strong core “helps a runner maintain their center of gravity late in the race, when running form breaks down due to fatigue”, says George Buckheit, founder of the Capital Area Runners Club in Washington, DC. Doing simple planks at home helps the core.
76-year old Russell Pate, PhD, is a professor at University of South Carolina’s Exercise Science Department. He is a long distance runner and finished thrice at the top 10 in the Boston Marathon. He said that running reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Just 10-15 minutes of running 3x a week at a modest speed of 8kph leads us to better health. He said to get fit and healthy, 20 minutes a day of moderate intensity is doable.
Running can help us do away with medications. A London study found reduced blood pressure and artery stiffening in participants aged 21 to 69. Benefits were greater in slower and older male prticipants with higher BPs. It concluded that it was as if their arteries were 4 years younger.
Running is inexpensive (unless you opt for those high-end running shoes) and easily accessible but it is always wise to get clearance from our doctors before we merrily run our issues away.
Can we still be runners if we don’t look like one? Yes, we can. Look around marathons and you’ll notice there’s more regular looking guys and gals than the faster ones. Victories are NOT always celebrated on podiums. Just watch out for those half-crazed motorcycle riders.
- Latest
