This Isn't About Weight Loss

This feels a bit like a confession.

At 5’8”, I race between 194 and 198lbs. If you’ve ever stood at the start line of a competitive ultra, you know that’s heavy for this sport. I’ve never had the typical runners build. I’ve always carried muscle easily and naturally have a thicker frame.

For the past year, I've been asking myself an uncomfortable question.

Is my weight one of the biggest things holding me back?

I think the answer is yes.

Not because there's a magic number everyone should chase. And not because lighter automatically means faster. It's never that simple. It depends on the demands of the race.

Then there's the reality of physics. Running is a weight bearing sport. Every stride requires you to move your body forward and, at times, uphill. The more nonfunctional mass you're carrying, the more energy that movement requires. Over a few miles you probably won't notice. Over 50 miles, those small costs add up. If two runners have similar fitness and running economy, the one carrying less nonfunctional mass will generally require less energy to maintain the same pace.

That's why body composition matters. Not because you're trying to look like an elite runner. Because you're trying to move through the course as efficiently as possible.

I'm a good example of this.

The extra muscle I carry has been one of my biggest assets. It's helped me stay healthy through years of hard training blocks, handle technical, quad/knee crunching descents, and keep power in my legs late into mountain races.

But I also have to be honest with myself.

I’ve run some decent times across a range of ultras, from the 50K to the 100 mile distance. Looking at my training objectively, I don’t think my aerobic engine is the bottleneck anymore. I think the next gain comes from improving my power to weight ratio without sacrificing the strength and durability that got me here in the first place.

The important part is realizing this changes depending on the race.

JFK 50 is one of the most runnable ultras I've ever raced. Unlike Jigger Johnson, Big Alta, or even Midstate, it rewards sustained, efficient running for hours on end. That changes the equation. For JFK this fall, I think arriving somewhere around 185 to 188lbs, while keeping my strength intact, puts me in a better position than trying to grind out another small increase in threshold heart rate.

If I were training for another mountainous race like Jigger Johnson, I'd probably make a different call. When you're spending 30 to 40hrs climbing, descending, power hiking, and absorbing thousands of impacts, durability becomes part of performance. In that world, carrying a little more functional mass might actually be worth the tradeoff.

That's why I don't believe there's an ideal ultrarunner body. There are bodies that are better suited to different demands.

When you're training consistently at a high level, the number on the scale matters far less than what it represents. Who cares if you weigh 190 or 200? What matters is whether your training and nutrition are moving your composition in the right direction. Keeping the muscle that matters. Reducing the body fat that isn't helping you perform. Becoming stronger, more efficient, and better equipped for the demands of your race.

That's a very different mindset from simply trying to lose weight.

I've chased an arbitrary race weight before. I'd hit the number and think I was ready. Then I'd realize I'd drained the battery. I climbed well for a while, but recovery suffered. Little injuries started showing up. The engine I'd spent months, even years, building slowly disappeared because I wasn't supporting it.

That's not a trade I'm willing to make anymore.

The goal isn't to become a smaller human. It's to become a more efficient athlete. The scale shouldn't be the boss of your training. Your training should drive the changes on the scale.

This is a performance discussion, not an appearance discussion.

When runners hit a plateau, the first instinct is to look for a fix. A new workout. A supplement. A training hack. Those things have their place. But my bet for JFK is that the breakthrough won't come from another workout or another supplement. It'll come from showing up to the start line with the exact same engine I've spent years building... while asking it to carry a little less.

If I'm right, it won't just show up on the scale. It'll show up in my running economy, my climbing efficiency, and how much I have left when things get dark in the final miles.

This was never about losing weight.

It was always about becoming a more efficient athlete.