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Distance running has no effect on ones weight...are you really saying that? Exercise can change your physique dramatically. I've been a state-level bicycle rac

• chongli 10y ago
  The vast majority of the top runners in the Olympic and other world-class marathons are well under 6 feet tall, with most closer to 5 feet tall. Sprinters, on the other hand, are well over 6 feet. Are you suggesting distance running makes people shorter?
  • deleted 10y ago
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  • nbschulze 10y ago
    That is not the truth. While generally not over 6 feet tall, the Olympic distance runners had a very normal height distribution. One of the shorter, Hillary Bor, is still 5' 7".
    • paulcole 10y ago
      Olympics aren't a great test for this. Look at top marathon runners size over time. http://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/the-incredible-shrinking-marathoner http://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/the-incredible-shr...
      • nbschulze 10y ago
        That kinda says what I'm saying, top marathoners/distance runners are of average height (around 5'7").
        • chongli 10y ago
          Average height for Japan, maybe, but not really anywhere in the Western world. Average height in the Netherlands is over 6 feet, for example.
          • nbschulze 10y ago
            Still not closer to 5 foot tall. I don't know how or why this is still an argument. Marathon runners are not 5' tall. That's tiny. And average height in the Netherlands is right at 6'.
            • chongli 10y ago
              Eliud Kipchoge, winner of the gold medal in Rio, is 5'5.5". That's closer to 5 feet than it is to 6.
              • nbschulze 10y ago
                Yep, and the other two guys were both over 5'8". Actually, out of every distance event, 2/3 of the medal winners were over 5'8". Feyisa Lilesa is 5'9" Galen Rupp is 5'11" Mo Farah is 5'9" Bernard Lagat is 5'8" Matt Centrowitz is 5'9" Paul Chelimo is 5'11" Tamirat Tola is 5'11" Taoufik Makhloufi is 5'9" Nick Willis is 6' Evan Jager is 6'2" Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad is 6'3"
            • GFischer 10y ago
              Netherlands is an extreme outlier (world's tallest people). 5 foot 7 is actually standard in my country and even on the tall side for my continent, South America (although better diet is fixing that). It's also tall for Asia and Africa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_average_human_height_worldwide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_average_human_height_w...
• gozur88 10y ago
  It doesn't have any effect on your bone structure. Competitive long distance runners are built like chickens.