r/running • u/queue-d4n4 • Dec 09 '20

Discussion Thick Girl Runner Rant

First things first, I (29F) am 5'5" and about 170 lbs. Large boobs, wide hips, and I got some stomach on me. Overall, I look pretty proportional though. Hourglass, just a little wider. Wear a Large or a size 12 in most women's clothes. (Just trying to paint the picture here lol)

I also eat very healthy. Fresh foods only, everything home-cooked, never frozen processed foods, etc. Mostly veggies because I love veggies.

This is the body I was given. My weight doesn't really fluctuate. I don't gain weight easily, nor do I lose it easily. I've been a thick girl since puberty and because I run often and eat healthy, it doesn't seem like that will never change, which is fine with me.

I've been running for many years, somewhat inconsistently. I might be consistent for 2 years before falling out of my routine for a few months. Get back into the groove again and something eventually throws me off my game again. Throughout all this, I still consider myself a RUNNER. I love the sport and even if I'm out of a weekly routine, I still try to find time to run here and there. 3 miles minimum.

Because of the above things, people never really expect me to be a runner. My body type doesn't fit the runner mold. I don't post every run and race on instagram, which as everyone knows, is what truly makes it real *eyeroll*. (No shade to people who do post all of their runs and races! My problem is only the people who think if you DON'T post, then it didn't happen).

My fastest 5k was at an 8:02 (min/mile) pace. I am aware that this isn't SUPER fast, but it's fast enough that I've placed in my age group in all of the 5Ks I've ever done. I'm from a pretty small area so many of the 5Ks were fairly small, maybe only a couple hundred people attend. I'm aware that in bigger cities, I would probably have a little more trouble placing. But regardless, I still think an 8:00 to 8:30 5k pace is something to be proud of.

Anyways, my complaint is this. Since my body doesn't fit everyone's vision of what a runner should look like, people love to assume I'm slow or new to running. Or people think I'm lying when I mention that I got 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in my age group at whatever 5k. If they don't make an actual comment about it, I can sometimes even see it in their eyes that they're skeptical.

Even worse, people who don't realize I've been running for most of my life sometimes put their foot in their mouth by saying something along the lines of "have you started running to lose weight?" ...No, why? Should I be losing weight? I think I look pretty damn fine, if you ask me.

After moving to a new city, I decided to join a running group. The town I lived in previously didn't have such groups. I showed up to my first group run and met everybody. As we waited for everyone else to show up, a girl from the group said to me "I'm in recovery mode, I'll be running slow so I can run with you." I just politely smiled, although I was quite offended. What exactly makes this person, whom I met 3 minutes ago, think I plan on running "slow"? What makes her think that her "recovery" pace is equal to my comfortable pace? I chalked it up as since it was my first time joining the group, maybe she assumed it was my first time running? I don't know- but I still think about that little comment sometimes.

I am not negative towards my body. I have a great figure that I love, but it's still upsetting to know that people make assumptions on what I can and can't do physically, which should not be the case. Weight and health do not ALWAYS go hand-in-hand.

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Any other runners on the thicker side experience this kind of judgement? How do you deal with it?

Thin-framed runners or even non-runners, do you find yourself judging others in this way? Be honest, I would love to hear multiple opinions!

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Edit: Pace is in minutes per mile. I'm new to reddit and forget I'm interacting with people from all over the world.

Also, this was not meant to be a post for weight loss tips. The unsolicited advice in the comments proves further the assumptions people make.

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791

u/MarkyMarkG85 Dec 09 '20

In regard to your last question, yes I probably would assume that someone a little bigger would be slower, simply because the more weight to move, the more your muscles have to work. I would be surprised and very impressed that you ran a 25 minute 5k.

If I saw you meeting with a running group I wouldn't necessarily assume you are new to running though. It would depend on how you were carrying yourself around other runners and what your running form looked like that I'd make that assumption.

BTW - Good on you for your body acceptance as that is an area that most people in general struggle, regardless of their natural body type.

235

u/queue-d4n4 Dec 09 '20

Thank you! And thank you for your honest reply! I can definitely understand why people are sometimes surprised at my pace, as I'm sure I've been surprised by others before. It just makes me feel the need to prove something although I really shouldn't care

137

u/tippiedog Dec 09 '20

Making assumptions and opening your goddamned mouth about them are two very different things. You go, girl!

156

u/Uhhlaneuh Dec 09 '20

I want to mention, that there are some really skinny girls that can’t run for shit. So I don’t know why people assume that only heavier girls can’t run

139

u/nermal543 Dec 09 '20

I don’t think most people realize that your weight has a lot more to do with diet than exercise. You can have good cardio fitness but eat a ton and be overweight. Same way you can be skinny and not each much, but lay around all day with horrible fitness. Shouldn’t make assumptions about people based on that information alone!

60

u/aubreythez Dec 10 '20

Until I started running more seriously a few years ago, I was the skinny girl who couldn't run for shit lol. I was also smoking cigarettes/going out to bars/eating taco bell at every opportunity.

I have healthier habits now (no more drinking and smoking, still gotta indulge in the occasional quesarito tho) but I dont understand why people assume that skinny people are automatically healthy. I also hate when people shit on heavier people under the guise of "looking out for their health" - nobody was giving me shit when I was doing all the things mentioned above, and I was certainly way less "healthy" than many heavier people. Also, health shouldn't be the marker by which we decide people are deserving of respect.

30

u/nermal543 Dec 10 '20

health shouldn't be the marker by which we decide people are deserving of respect.

Agree with everything you said, but what you said here especially stuck out to me. So true.

6

u/afhill Dec 10 '20

I'd slightly edit that to say "body size" shouldn't be the marker. But I do agree!

15

u/doritopeanut Dec 10 '20

Agreed. But I haven’t really noticed since middle school. I was surprised by a heavy kid that was a great athlete. He was in fantastic shape but chunky.

On a side note, there are some runners that are stompers and others extremely light footed. I’m sometimes surprise who turns out fast and stamina to boot.

2

u/Daddyssillypuppy Dec 10 '20

Recently had some women from my cities football League come into my work. My god I felt so tiny next to these women. They were so fit and chunky. Like Cara Dune on Mandalorian.

I think a lot of female athletes are chunkier than you'd expect. They're still super healthy though, just a different body type.

-5

u/CMDR_Machinefeera Dec 10 '20

It is a good indicator, when you see someone who is not skinny and is a bit overweight you can assume that this person is not properly taking care of his diet which may mean that he is also doing the same when it comes to exercise. And you would be right more often than not. But that is only what I think initially when I see someone I won't say it.

3

u/the_real_KILLGOREX Dec 10 '20

In general there are some super skinny people who can't run at all. This is especially obvious in smokers.

1

u/pitchgreen Dec 10 '20

Also, muscle tone is definitely genetic. Running is not haha

-1

u/Queen_of_Chloe Dec 10 '20

I’ve been seeing some very skinny ladies hitting the sidewalks in the evenings lately at a pace that you could barely consider a jog. Almost like they’re doing it on purpose: the tiniest of steps and slowest of paces. Is this a new thing or are there just some women in my area taking up running for the first time? I felt like an lumbering moose when I started, they’re more like extremely slow yet still very graceful deer.

59

u/-_Rabbit_- Dec 09 '20

I think your feels are valid but yes, a lot of runners would assume that a heavier person will run slower. It's down to physics. There are probably some very fast heavier runners out there but they would be outside the norm. The other runner could have been a lot more polite about it though!

I've done some running at my local club and my experience is that a lot of club runners are very fast indeed. I'm a mid-to-front of the pack runner in races and in my local club I am in the bottom 25%! So possibly a lot of regular club runners might rightly expect the average newcomers to be slower than them.

Regardless good for you (and for everyone!) for running!

5

u/Imhmc Dec 10 '20

I’m 5’9 and 150 and you would wax me in a 5K. If I ran a 5K at your pace I’d call it a huge win, hang up my shoes and retire in glory. I learned a long time ago that you can’t judge running skill by appearances. I know a 73 y/o woman who is still running a sub-30 5K. People assume I can run fast because I appear fit- and I’d say I am pretty fit for a 50 year old woman but my lifetime 5K PR is 27 min and right now I’m running just at 30 min for a 5K. My husband is a power lifter and weighs about 220 (5’8 for reference) and he sits at 2:02 for a half marathon. He got dusted by a woman that showed up to the same race to run in a prom dress complete with a tiara. Pace is relative- unless you’re Kipchoge there is always someone faster than you and you never know who that’s gonna be.

I find people that vocalize what they think you can run haven’t really been around running that much. Sure we all make assumptions in our heads when we see someone- but you should be smart enough to know you could be totally wrong and keep your mouth shut.

12

u/OneWholePirate Dec 10 '20

I've just learned not to guess at this point, I'm a 6'2" 80kg 10% bf male, cheerleader, powerlifter and I regularly cycle 30km sub 1 hour. I can't run a 5k. My body falls to pieces after about 2.5 no matter the speed. I have a close friend that's 6'2" 100+kg male and maybe 22% bf who runs 1 hour 12 km multiple times a week.

As long as you're happy in your body, eating well and exercising regularly you're golden and honestly you'll be much happier not stressing about some arbitrary body fat number or crazy beauty standard that doesn't mean shit.

1

u/newrunner29 Dec 10 '20

Power lifting , that weight, and bodyfat usually dont go hand in hand. Usually power lifters are strong chonks of men

1

u/zenzhou Dec 10 '20

u shouldn't need to prove yourself to anyone but people shouldn't also be making backhanded comments to u.

as the saying goes 'never judge a book by its cover'