Weight loss

If running is pursued in the right way, then weight loss is imminent. As the intensity and the training volume ramps up; the weight loss increases. It has to increase since it is a biological and mathematical fact.

Racing weight is that perfect weight with which you confidently start a race, and when you possess just the right amount of muscles and fat to take you from the start line to the finish line in the least time possible, with minimum amount of wear and tear.

Racing weight is relative. A person wanting to run an 80 minute half marathon should be a lot lighter than a person wanting to finish in 120 minutes.

Therefore, by using the right amount of training and eating habits, runners tamper with and reduce their bodies- inch by inch, centimetre by centimetre, bit by bit; peeling away layer after layer as race day gets closer.

Forget the elites and look at the top finishers in a semi-big race, you will see featherlight bodies floating to the finish line. All the non-essential flesh would have been chased away. Just the bare minimum retained in order to derive maximum performance without jeopardizing their health.

But in reaching that finish line in a manner which satisfies the runner, the runner has become the opposite of the perception of looking strong.

To focus more on men instead of women, since men lose more weight and look more gaunt and malnourished due to different genetics; the outward appearance of a serious runner is that of ill health and nowhere does he resemble strength and manliness in the manner that society perceives both these attributes.

The serious runner looks frail and weak. He is a waif and gaunt subject in photographs. A sapling which never attained the width of a tree and just continued on a vertical journey. Leaner than the “normal” people in his vicinity.

He is the antithesis of a strapping muscular man. He may be muscular and lean but even on good days, he is the anorexic Conan The Barbarian.

I've seen serious runner friends and acquaintances drop kilograms in a span of a few months and when I see them, I can see the outward frailty and gauntness. They appear weak; weaker than before when they were lugging “normal” weight. This is accentuated by the fact that the face is usually the first to take a hit and those hollow cheeks develop. 

It does not matter if the runner feels more alive and strong than before; his image is weaker.

From the earlier ease of mingling with the cherubic crowds, these runners have allowed their passion to enslave normalcy and turned their bodies into outwardly questionable vessels.

Society wants men to look strong on the outside. Machismo and burliness are rewarded since evolution has programmed us psychologically to obey/fear/respect larger individuals. Never judge a book by its cover is only applicable to inanimate objects. Living beings are first judged by their size, for the obvious reason that no one will sit with a psychological assessment questionnaire to see how good and strong you feel. Looks matter; appearances matter. 

However, if you forget the outward appearance and turn this gaunt runner inside out, the story is entirely different. The outward appearance of frailty is a deception; it belies what has developed inside. Inside, he is a completely different person now. The regular training sessions have callused and transformed a feeble mind into a machine with more willpower, grit and determination than ever before. The outward appearance of loss of strength has been compensated by an inward increase in strength. The mind now no longer accepts the erstwhile limitations and weaknesses. It has been supplemented. It is stronger than ever before. The book has re-written itself with the ink of sweat and effort.

I don't cardio. I don't Gatorade. I drink blood. She loves it.