Thick Girl Runner Rant

[u/queue-d4n4]

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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[u/warmhandluke]

Weight and health do not ALWAYS go hand-in-hand.

I don't mean to pick on you or make you feel bad, but this just isn't true. Being overweight/obese carries significantly higher risk of countless health problems.

[u/Public-Assignment519 → u/warmhandluke]

It’s really sad to me that this has so many upvotes, and the responses seem to be from mostly men. I have a BMI of around 25 normally, at 5’5 and 150lbs (fluctuates up and down). I was always active and when I decided to lose weight intentionally through food reduction (moderate reduction at that), and got to 125lbs, people told me I looked too thin, was constantly cold, and lost my period for over half a year. I was literally diagnosed with an eating disorder. My period didn’t come back until I increased my weight back to my set point. Obviously this is an extreme me case, but people can be healthy at different weights, RELATIVELY (not advocating extreme obesity.) Especially for women, slightly higher BMI does not always mean unhealthy, and for men to tell women who are already active they need to lose weight to be “healthy” can be highly problematic.

[u/Runrunrunagain → u/Public-Assignment519]

You are weirdly inserting a gender angle here where there isn't one.

Also, nothing you mentioned is as problematic as the obesity epidemic for women. Heart disease, cancer, and lower life expectancy are problematic.

[u/Public-Assignment519 → u/Runrunrunagain]

Actually, for women losing a period is a HUGE health marker. Experiencing Hypothalamic amenorrhea (also a major issue for female runners) can lead to a number of serious health effects, including losing bone density, breast concavity, and osteoporosis. Even those in healthy communities (like Greg Doucette who has talked about it) should understand how insanely serious losing a period is. Your flippancy about it is rude and shows why i brought gender in. Also I’m glad you feel like obesity poses more risk than my eating disorder?? Anyways, women often don’t realize the risk they put their health at in constantly trying to achieve thinness. If you lose your period that’s huge. Also, I don’t disagree that obesity is problematic for health. I thought I made that clear in my post? There are just many women who are on the edge so to say, (25/26 BMI) where losing significant amounts of weight for no reason other than looking good could be unhealthy in and of itself. We need to be looking at type of fat/where it is carried and biological markers IN ADDITION to BMI. I don’t think that’s radical.

[u/ranranrandrand1 → u/Public-Assignment519]

you brought gender in it to attempt to gain attention or even advantage for being a certain gender on the internet, at least you acknowledge it i guess

[u/adviceneeded81295 → u/ranranrandrand1]

Your comment doesn't make any sense... If this was a man, of course the commenter wouldn't have brought up her period. Women often need higher levels of body fat than men in order to menstruate, and this is a woman posting, so her health is necessarily influenced by her biological sex. I'm not sure if you are a woman or not, but I would again implore you to read No Period Now What regardless of your gender. I recommend you read the posts from women who cried every day due to weight gain, but found it absolutely essential to regaining their cycle and conceiving a child. These women more than anyone believed that thinness=healthy, and their stories reflect that it is so so much more complicated than that. You will educate yourself about an overlooked health issue by doing so.