How Does a Runner Look?

<< How does a runner look?>>

based on my very limited experience -- regarding thinking
about such issues -- i have noticed that serious adult
runners differ by gender, meaning, male runners tend to look
lean, while female runners can look chunky.

i am referring to adults, not adolescents; as well as
non-marathon runners (eg, serious, steady long-
distance running).

are my tentative observations accurate, on average, or am i
incorrect? i welcome differing opinions on this issue!

\\ - - // ( @ @ ) +--------oOOo-(_)--oOOo----
+ +------------------------Oooo----+ oooO
( ) ( ) ) / \ ( (_

[email hidden] (Virginiaz) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

<< How does a runner look?>>

based on my very limited experience -- regarding thinking
about such issues -- i have noticed that serious adult
runners differ by gender, meaning, male runners tend to
look lean, while female runners can look chunky.

i am referring to adults, not adolescents; as well as non-
marathon runners (eg, serious, steady long-distance
running).

are my tentative observations accurate, on average, or am
i incorrect? i welcome differing opinions on this issue!

Maybe that is your observation of the average runner that
you see at your local races. I think the reason that the
women can look chunky is that there are more women of this
body type that are willing to enter a race. If you look at
the top percentile of male and female runners, you will see
that they are all thin, low body fat types.

Phil M.

--
"I gotta go. You're killin' me."

In article <[email hidden]>,

frank-in-toronto said:

How does a runner look?

I ask this because I saw a lady the other day who I knew
right away was a recreational runner. It wasn't her size
because she wasn't all that slim. But it was obvious. We
spoke later and my guess was confirmed.

Now, having nothing to do some of the time, I've been
trying to figure out how I knew. Could have been just
coincidence. But I like to think that "runners" look and
act different from the general population. I think it was
the way she walked. Kinda on the balls of her feet
usually. Maybe it was her posture.

Any other ideas? ...thehick

we are just generally all-around excellent people.
interesting, fun to be with, cool personalities, full of
energy, kind to animals, we value the elderly, save children
from burning buildings, wear capes with pizazz as we travel
faster than speeding bullets, have great teeth, wonderful
minty-fresh breath, biceps of steel, are extremely handy
around the house, can repair cars without difficulty, win
contests frequently, garner the admiration of world leaders,
raise healthy houseplants, create beautiful intelligent
children, are environmentally aware and friendly, and can
whip up a souffle without using a recipe.

that's all i can think of at the moment 🙂

Cam

frank-in-toronto said:

But I like to think that "runners" look and
act different from the general population.

Why would you expect a runner to look different than, say, a
xc skiier or a mt biker or a thru-hiker, esp. since some
runners do all those activities competively or for cross-
training? Or did you mean to say that endurance athletes
look different from the general population?

At races, I've bumped into several people from work (not my
immediate location, but people I've worked with on projects)
who are runners, and I never would've thought they were
runners. And one guy that I thought might be a runner was
actually a xc skiier (or at least that's how he entered that
particular race where you can choose your weapon from
running, skiing, biking). Then again, maybe I just don't
know what a runner looks like. Wouldn't be the first time I
was clueless about something dealing with running.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd
Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

onemarathon <[email hidden]> wrote in news:cam_wilson-
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

frank-in-toronto said:

How does a runner look?

I ask this because I saw a lady the other day who I knew
right away was a recreational runner. It wasn't her size
because she wasn't all that slim. But it was obvious. We
spoke later and my guess was confirmed.

Now, having nothing to do some of the time, I've been
trying to figure out how I knew. Could have been just
coincidence. But I like to think that "runners" look and
act different from the general population. I think it was
the way she walked. Kinda on the balls of her feet
usually. Maybe it was her posture.

Any other ideas? ...thehick

we are just generally all-around excellent people.
interesting, fun to be with, cool personalities, full of
energy, kind to animals, we value the elderly, save
children from burning buildings, wear capes with pizazz
as we travel faster than speeding bullets, have great
teeth, wonderful minty-fresh breath, biceps of steel, are
extremely handy around the house, can repair cars without
difficulty, win contests frequently, garner the
admiration of world leaders, raise healthy houseplants,
create beautiful intelligent children, are
environmentally aware and friendly, and can whip up a
souffle without using a recipe.

...and humble.

Phil M.

--
"I gotta go. You're killin' me."

Joggers DO look and act different than the general
population. What, did you think the pointing, laughing,
hostility, and merciless ridicule was just coincidence?

"Phil M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

onemarathon <[email hidden]> wrote in news:cam_wilson-
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

frank-in-toronto said:

How does a runner look?

Half look very much like an adult in a Spiderman costume,
the other half look like ballerinas in tutu's.

Phil M. said:

If you look at the top percentile of male and female
runners, you will see that they are all thin, low body
fat types.

What's interesting is to compare the image of a "runner"
generated by RW (I've only seen a couple recent covers that
have been discussed here), TrailRunner, and Ultrarunning -
by covers or inside photos. RW can be mistaken for
Cosmopolitan (or whatever); TrailRunner has them decked out
in sponsors clothes, are usually very "fit" (strong?)
looking (not the small frame of elite road runners), and are
usually in aggressive running positions (not standing models
like RW); and Ultrarunning inside photos look like the
average person on the street - like race photos that might
appear here with people of all shapes and sizes.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd
Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Dot i have to agree RW = beautifull(?) people i wasthink on
getting a sub. buit not now plodzilla

Dot said:

Phil M. said:

If you look at the top percentile of male and female
runners, you will see that they are all thin, low body
fat types.

What's interesting is to compare the image of a "runner"
generated by RW (I've only seen a couple recent covers
that have been discussed here), TrailRunner, and
Ultrarunning - by covers or inside photos. RW can be
mistaken for Cosmopolitan (or whatever); TrailRunner has
them decked out in sponsors clothes, are usually very
"fit" (strong?) looking (not the small frame of elite road
runners), and are usually in aggressive running positions
(not standing models like RW); and Ultrarunning inside
photos look like the average person on the street - like
race photos that might appear here with people of all
shapes and sizes.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd
Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

gentolm said:

Dot i have to agree RW = beautifull(?) people i wasthink
on getting a sub. buit not now plodzilla

In common with most magazines, they are full of fluff and
little substance. The first two or three copies you buy are
quite interesting but you soon realise that its the same
stuff regurgitated. And the front covers always have the
emotive subjects like:

"eat more, lose weight"

"the only workout you really need"

have you ever been on a photo shoot?? it is a hoot. I was
climbing in about 95 degree and there was the whole camera
crew with a beautiful person shooting his feet for some shoe
add. all he did was complain between shots how hot it was
and how he needed to get back to his a.c. home... what a
farce. then there was the time about 6 females were at the
climb ,,, that good looking,,, had to be a photo shoot and
another story plodzilla

ZB said:

gentolm said:

Dot i have to agree RW = beautifull(?) people i wasthink
on getting a sub. buit not now plodzilla

In common with most magazines, they are full of fluff and
little substance. The first two or three copies you buy
are quite interesting but you soon realise that its the
same stuff regurgitated. And the front covers always have
the emotive subjects like:

"eat more, lose weight"

"the only workout you really need"

"onemarathon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

frank-in-toronto said:

How does a runner look?

I ask this because I saw a lady the other day who I knew
right away was a recreational runner. It wasn't her size
because she wasn't all that slim. But it was obvious. We
spoke later and my guess was confirmed.

Now, having nothing to do some of the time, I've been
trying to figure out how I knew. Could have been just
coincidence. But I like to think that "runners" look and
act different from the general population. I think it
was the way she walked. Kinda on the balls of her feet
usually. Maybe it was her posture.

Any other ideas? ...thehick

we are just generally all-around excellent people.
interesting, fun to be with, cool personalities, full of
energy, kind to animals, we value the elderly, save
children from burning buildings, wear capes with pizazz as
we travel faster than speeding bullets, have great teeth,
wonderful minty-fresh breath, biceps of steel, are
extremely handy around the house, can repair cars without
difficulty, win contests frequently, garner the admiration
of world leaders, raise healthy houseplants, create
beautiful intelligent children, are

environmentally

Quoted message said:

aware and friendly, and can whip up a souffle without
using a recipe.

that's all i can think of at the moment 🙂

Took the words right out of my mouth.

-DougF

"ZB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

gentolm said:

Dot i have to agree RW = beautifull(?) people i wasthink
on getting a sub. buit not now plodzilla

In common with most magazines, they are full of fluff
and little

substance.

Quoted message said:

The first two or three copies you buy are quite
interesting but you

soon

Quoted message said:

realise that its the same stuff regurgitated. And the
front covers

always

Quoted message said:

have the emotive subjects like:

"eat more, lose weight"

"the only workout you really need"

And the notorious concept of numbering. 10 ways to lose fat
off you nose in a crowd, or 17 ways to iron your sports bra
in the shower. Drives me nuts. I had a talk with George
Hirch(sp) many years back and why they did that. It seems
the majority of runners are anally(my word) comfortable,
demanding that things be numbered. Actually most magazines
use the same philosophy.

-DougF

Doug Freese said:

"ZB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:2j5b5tFtbh3sU1@uni-
berlin.de...

Quoted message said:

gentolm said:

Dot i have to agree RW = beautifull(?) people i wasthink
on getting a sub. buit not now plodzilla

In common with most magazines, they are full of fluff and
little substance. The first two or three copies you buy
are quite interesting but you soon realise that its the
same stuff regurgitated. And the front covers always have
the emotive subjects like:

"eat more, lose weight"

"the only workout you really need"

And the notorious concept of numbering. 10 ways to lose
fat off you nose in a crowd, or 17 ways to iron your
sports bra in the shower. Drives me nuts. I had a talk
with George Hirch(sp) many years back and why they did
that. It seems the majority of runners are anally(my word)
comfortable, demanding that things be numbered. Actually
most magazines use the same philosophy.

They certainly do, I stopped buying Mens Health after 3
issues when I realised their super duper 5 ways to lose your
belly in 3 months didnt give me a six-pack. I wouldnt mind
if the tips were any good, but most consist of two sentences
with statements like "stop eating so much, the weight will
fall off".

"Doug Freese" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

onemarathon <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

raise healthy houseplants, create beautiful intelligent
children, are

environmentally

Quoted message said:

aware and friendly, and can whip up a souffle without
using a recipe.

that's all i can think of at the moment 🙂

Took the words right out of my mouth.

I was thinking more along the lines of: "They smell
worse than the rest of the crowd in the bagel shop on
Saturday morning."

Dot dot.h@#att.net said:

frank-in-toronto said:

But I like to think that "runners" look and
act different from the general population.

Why would you expect a runner to look different than, say,
a xc skiier or a mt biker or a thru-hiker, esp. since some
runners do all those activities competively or for cross-
training? Or did you mean to say that endurance athletes
look different from the general population?

not exactly. when i said "look", i meant more than
appearance. how runners walk, how they hold their bodies,
how they stand, stuff like that. more-or-less just for
something to do, i'm trying to figure out how to identify a
runner on sight. not just any endurance athlete. onemarathon
gave a good effort, but i'm finding it difficult to use some
of the attributes he/she described.

someone said that the men tend to be thin and the women to
be chunky. i think what that indicates is simply that less
serious men don't enter races while a lot of women do things
like this just for fun or charity. i.e.: not really runners.
just people doing something together that happens to look
like running.

i'm looking for more concrete things. ...thehick

On the inside cover typically will identify whoever is on
the cover and mostly they are runners. As far as putting an
average runner (whatever that is) on the cover I don't think
you'll ever see that, you are going to see at least someone
who looks like a good runner. And this is typical of any
sport magazine. On a body building mag will be a photo of
Gunter, not the typical wannabe that you see in the gym. And
do you want a photo of a skier snowplowing down a hill on a
ski magazine? Car and Driver will not have a '96 Civic on
the cover. On a side note when I get my Road Runner Sports
catalog now they have all these body building guys modeling
the running clothes.

Quoted message said:

What's interesting is to compare the image of a "runner"
generated by RW (I've only seen a couple recent covers
that have been discussed here), TrailRunner, and
Ultrarunning - by covers or inside photos. RW can be
mistaken for Cosmopolitan (or whatever); TrailRunner has
them decked out in sponsors clothes, are usually very
"fit" (strong?) looking (not the small frame of elite road
runners), and are usually in aggressive running positions
(not standing models like RW); and Ultrarunning inside
photos look like the average person on the street - like
race photos that might appear here with people of all
shapes and sizes.

Dot

If you are over 40, you might look "weathered" from all
those years of being exposed to the outside elements.

The person may be picking up on your breathing. A runner
would probably breathe smoothly and effortlessly in most
daily activities like walking through a store. Next time
you are in a WalMart, notice how many people appear to
be breathing hard or even wheezy while walking,
especially those with extra pounds. Or take extra
breaths while talking.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Phil M. said:

onemarathon <[email hidden]> wrote in news:cam_wilson-
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

frank-in-toronto said:

How does a runner look?

I ask this because I saw a lady the other day who I
knew right away was a recreational runner. It wasn't
her size because she wasn't all that slim. But it was
obvious. We spoke later and my guess was confirmed.

Now, having nothing to do some of the time, I've been
trying to figure out how I knew. Could have been just
coincidence. But I like to think that "runners" look
and act different from the general population. I think
it was the way she walked. Kinda on the balls of her
feet usually. Maybe it was her posture.

Any other ideas? ...thehick

we are just generally all-around excellent people.
interesting, fun to be with, cool personalities, full of
energy, kind to animals, we value the elderly, save
children from burning buildings, wear capes with pizazz
as we travel faster than speeding bullets, have great
teeth, wonderful minty-fresh breath, biceps of steel,
are extremely handy around the house, can repair cars
without difficulty, win contests frequently, garner the
admiration of world leaders, raise healthy houseplants,
create beautiful intelligent children, are
environmentally aware and friendly, and can whip up a
souffle without using a recipe.

...and humble.

Phil M.

oh yes, i absolutely should have mentioned that one.

Cam