Weight and Outdoor Activities - A Measuring Stick
Find your ideal running weight
Interested in running a 5K, 10K, half marathon, a marathon or longer distances? What should your target weight be? The best guidance seems to be the Stillman height/weight formula relied on by many coaches. This formula was developed for feet and inch measurements and is best calculated on this basis. The formula is calculated as follows:
Males - first 5 feet of height allow 110 lbs/50 kg, then add 5.5 lbs/2.5 kg per inch above 5 feet;
Females - first 5 feet of height allow 100 lbs/45 kg, then add 5.0 lbs/2.25 kg per inch above 5 feet;
The formula is for non-active individuals so distance runners should target a weight 5% to 10% or more lower than these weights - nearer 5% for shorter distances and up to 15% to 20% for long distance runners. As each person is different the runner needs to experiment to identify their ideal running weight. The following table attempts to simplify the calculations.
MEN | WOMEN | |||||||||
Height | Base | Less | Base | Less | ||||||
Feet:inches | Metres | Non-active | 5% | 10% | 15% | Non-active | 5% | 10% | 15% | |
5:00 | 1.52 | 50.00 | 47.50 | 45.00 | 42.50 | 45.00 | 42.75 | 40.50 | 38.25 | |
5:01 | 1.55 | 52.49 | 49.87 | 47.24 | 44.62 | 47.26 | 44.90 | 42.54 | 40.17 | |
5:02 | 1.58 | 54.98 | 52.23 | 49.48 | 46.73 | 49.53 | 47.05 | 44.58 | 42.10 | |
5:03 | 1.60 | 57.47 | 54.60 | 51.73 | 48.85 | 51.79 | 49.20 | 46.61 | 44.02 | |
5:04 | 1.63 | 59.96 | 56.97 | 53.97 | 50.97 | 54.06 | 51.36 | 48.65 | 45.95 | |
5:05 | 1.65 | 62.45 | 59.33 | 56.21 | 53.09 | 56.32 | 53.51 | 50.69 | 47.87 | |
5:06 | 1.68 | 64.95 | 61.70 | 58.45 | 55.20 | 58.59 | 55.66 | 52.73 | 49.80 | |
5:07 | 1.70 | 67.44 | 64.06 | 60.69 | 57.32 | 60.85 | 57.81 | 54.77 | 51.72 | |
5:08 | 1.73 | 69.93 | 66.43 | 62.93 | 59.44 | 63.12 | 59.96 | 56.80 | 53.65 | |
5:09 | 1.75 | 72.42 | 68.80 | 65.18 | 61.56 | 65.38 | 62.11 | 58.84 | 55.57 | |
5:10 | 1.78 | 74.91 | 71.16 | 67.42 | 63.67 | 67.64 | 64.26 | 60.88 | 57.50 | |
5:11 | 1.80 | 77.40 | 73.53 | 69.66 | 65.79 | 69.91 | 66.41 | 62.92 | 59.42 | |
6:00 | 1.83 | 79.89 | 75.90 | 71.90 | 67.91 | 72.17 | 68.57 | 64.96 | 61.35 | |
6:01 | 1.85 | 82.38 | 78.26 | 74.14 | 70.02 | 74.44 | 70.72 | 66.99 | 63.27 | |
6:02 | 1.88 | 84.87 | 80.63 | 76.39 | 72.14 | 76.70 | 72.87 | 69.03 | 65.20 | |
6:03 | 1.91 | 87.36 | 83.00 | 78.63 | 74.26 | 78.97 | 75.02 | 71.07 | 67.12 | |
6:04 | 1.93 | 89.86 | 85.36 | 80.87 | 76.38 | 81.23 | 77.17 | 73.11 | 69.05 | |
6:05 | 1.96 | 92.35 | 87.73 | 83.11 | 78.49 | 83.50 | 79.32 | 75.15 | 70.97 | |
6:06 | 1.98 | 94.84 | 90.10 | 85.35 | 80.61 | 85.76 | 81.47 | 77.18 | 72.90 |
Others have analysed a number of world class athletes, both male and female, and the average weight of these athletes at the peak of their career is 10% less than the base weight. So all those aspiring Goats and marathoners had better start shedding some weight if they want to improve their times. All a bit challenging really, as I thought I was pretty close to my target weight, but according to the table I still have some way to go!