Confessions of a Fat Runner

More ham than hamstring, I have run more than 10,000 miles in my life. Try not to look so surprised.

By Jennifer Graham | NEWSWEEK

Published Nov 29, 2008

From the magazine issue dated Dec 8, 2008

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So I'm sitting, nearly naked, on the edge of the massage table, and the masseuse comes in to ask what kind of service I'll be getting today. "The Runner's Revenge," I tell her. Startled, she looks me over. "Why?" she asks. "Uh, because I run?" I answer, recalculating her tip in my head.

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But when my hour was up and my deep tissues throbbed with contentment, I forgave the rube. After all, how was she supposed to know?

Most runners are ectomorphs: emaciated and square-jawed. Me, I'm an endomorph, possessed of a soft and thick body that looks as if it was stuffed to order at Build-A-Bear, not sculpted at an L.A. sports club. I look so unlike a runner that, when I first started jogging, passing motorists would pull over and ask if I needed a ride.

Twenty years later, defying all laws of science, my body doesn't look much different, even though I've run at least 10,000 miles.

Ten thousand miles? I pull out the calculator, because it doesn't seem possible that these thick thighs, slapping together rhythmically like a slow metronome, could carry me across the United States and back, twice. Solidly into middle age, I am more ham than hamstring.

But if the science doesn't work, the math does. Ten miles a week, 52 weeks a year—give or take a few rugged months while pregnant—equals 10,400 miles. And most weeks, I run more than 10 miles.

I'm not bragging, mind you. Ten miles is nothing for those long-legged ectomorphs who routinely cover that distance on their lunch breaks. The running magazines to which I subscribe regularly deflate my ego with headlines such as HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL 10K ON ONLY 20 MILES A WEEK!

Only?

No matter. Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the fitness guru who coined the word "aerobics," says that if you run more than 15 miles a week, you're running for something other than fitness. Fifteen miles a week is great. But without a significant reduction in ice cream (a sacrifice I'm unwilling to make), it won't make you thin.

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Posted By: workingmomsaregoodmoms @ 09/10/2009 8:07:55 PM

"Fat" is generally accepted to be a BMI indicating overweight or obese. I see that this author could be overweight according to BMI. I'm a size 14, and my BMI says "fat."
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Posted By: workingmomsaregoodmoms @ 09/10/2009 8:03:36 PM

Yes. Possible to be fit and fat. Thank you. There are about 8 marathon-runners who work in my office--half thin, half not. But they run the same amount. There is a genetic component here. Clearly.
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Posted By: Warren Selkow @ 07/26/2009 3:50:35 PM

Great piece. You are living proof of what I learned while researching a book I have written. The human body will adapt to exercise, regardless of your size and shape. My book, "The Simplified Handbook for Living With Heart Diseae and Other Chronic Diseases", and available on Amazon in three or so months, documents what happens when you start to exercise and the great impact on your heart, lungs, muscles and brain. So, I would have to say, that no, I am not surprised you run and give you credit for doing it. Oh, and don't be surprised if some of your piece ends up in my book.