Short legs, long torso, big build, help with running!

J

jrx

0
Okay, so I'm oddly shaped, and it's definitely a detriment to my running, so I really need some help trying to make my body shape work with me when I run.

Let me just say upfront: I'm in the Army. I have to run, and I have to run a lot (15 miles a week required, I put an additional 15 miles in myself). It's all medium distance running, 8 mile pace for 3-5 miles depending on the day.

I suck at running, and I think my body shape has something to do with it.

I have a stocky build... I'm 5'9" and 195 lbs. 48 inch chest, 33 inch waist. I have an inseam of 29 inches (most people my height seem to be in the 32-34 range). My legs are pretty built, and I'm still working on dropping those last 10 pounds.

So I'm kind of built like a pitbull.

My stride is short. I have good breath control and hardly ever wheeze or pant, though I do end up breathing very hard by the end of what amounts to be a 3-4 mile sprint we have mondays and wednesdays.

Is there anything I can even do to increase my stride, or run better in general? I can swin like a champ, and despite the fact I'm built bigger than other people I can generally outswim all of them. But my run is horrendous, and of all the sites I've seen it just seems to say "Short legs? Long torso? You may as well just give up."
 
I don't think you're top heavy; at 5'9", your inseam is about right. I am 6'00" and have an inseam of 32. But, a 48" chest and 33" waist is very good.
What is your cadence? A cadence of 180 is considered close to optimal for most folks. And most people have strides that are too long, not too short.
 
Hi there from a runner in south africa

[Hi There, I just got into this web site. I am based in South Africa. We run a lot of distance running here and I have run over 150 marathons, many ultras and many races, full stop. I think the way to handle this is to find a race on the race calendar and then train for that race, whatever distance. I can help you by giving you a training schedule for that race.
 
I have short legs and a long torso also. In fact in most vehicles I hit my head on the roof, because my torso is so long, even thugh I am only 5'10". I was in the Marines long ago and we did a lot of running. I could run all day at a given pace, but just a little faster and I was quickly winded. My biggest challange was the run portion of our quarterly PFT (physical fitness test). To score the maximum required running 3 miles in 18 minutes. No matter what how hard I trained or tried teh best I ever did was 18:20. I noticed the guy who always beat 18 minutes was the same height as me, but his groin was up about the same level as the bottom of my sternum. It took 2 of my steps to cove the same distance as on of his. So essentially i was working twice as hard as he was to cover the same distance. Of course, I could easily beat him at pullups, situps and just about anything else, including running up a steep hill or stairs. But on level ground he would always beat me. If you watch a world class track meet, notice how long the legs of the 400 and 800 meter runners are. You can always improve your times, but if you have short legs you are never going to be a world class runner and you are never going to run a 4 minute mile.

In terms of what is important for the army, I bet you can ruck a heavier load for a longer time than the faster runners and manhandle an M60 or 50 cal like those guys never could. I'd rather have you in my squad, but sometimes the brass can be pretty hardheaded about arbitrary measurement standards, like how fast you can run 3 miles on level even ground:(.
 
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