The NY Times has an interesting article on body size and athletics. The article discusses the fact that body size is arguably one of the most important factors in sports like running, swimming and cycling. We all know that to be an elite road or track runner you have to be very light, carrying around 2 pounds/inch or under to be successful.
Distance running is different. Tall people naturally have longer strides, but stride length, it turns out, does not determine speed. Running requires that you lift your body off the ground with each step, propelling yourself forward. The more you weigh, the harder you have to work to lift your body and the slower you will be.
The best runners are small and light, with slim legs. “If you have large legs, you have to move a big load,” Dr. Secher said. “The smaller you are, the better you are.”
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The tallest elite marathoner today, Robert Cheruiyot, is 6-foot-2. But he weighs only 143 pounds. Most elite male marathoners, Dr. Joyner notes, are between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-11 and weigh between 120 and 140 pounds. In distance running, he said, “you just don’t find many big people.”
This does not seem to be the case in elite ultra and trail/mountain running. Trail, mountain and ultra runners for some reason seem to get away with carrying a little more bulk than the average elite road/track distance runner (you still have to be lean) but there is a definite difference in leg size and upper body size, just look at Scott Jurek he is thin but he looks like a football player next to someone like Paul Tergat. I think this stems from the fact that trail running requires more leg muscle to power through the hills as well as more upper body strength to maintain form over the long haul.
Link.
