Question for short statured joggers

karrenbennett

I'm short (4' 10") and in the middle of marathon training. My question is... how tall are you and what is your running pace? I ran a 10K this weekend and it took me 1 hr 58 minutes! That's a long time! My average 5K time is 56 minutes. Just about everyone can WALK a 5K in that time.

Several questions:

To improve my performance, should I increase my stride length or my strike rate? I have a very short stride and look like one of those cartoon characters whose feet are moving but the body is stationary.

Next question... how do I do that?

Or.. do you other suggestions on how to improve my performance?

I've recently started some strength training (squats, free weights, etc) which should help.

I'm running my first 1/2 marathon in February in Austin, Texas so I have time to improve my pace.

Thanks for your help.
Karren

ambercole

i'm 5'7" and I run a 5k in 28min and a 10k in just under an hour. I'm working on improving those times, but for now, that's where I stand.

sarahsmom1

try and think of it this way the shorter you are the shorter your stride. (I'm not calling you a child) Just like when you see a child walking with and adult it takes them 3to 4 steps to 1 step of an adult. Even though My daughter and I are both the same height and her stride is longer than mine because her legs are longer and my torso is longer. Its just your make up. Good Luck

karrenbennett

Whoa! That's insane! I can't imagine running a 5K in 28 minutes. That's awesome for you!
I would love to be able to do a 10K in an hour.
I should eat more Wheaties.

UpToAnyCool

I'm new to jogging and I can't actually run more than 5K right now, period.
At 5'-0" the fastest I have run 5K is just under 30 minutes, but more consistently btwn 33-36 mins.
This is just at a park - I've never raced and I used google pedometer to figure out distances - I don't have a fancy Garmin thingy.

Since I am new to this, I am still just trying to get out there to jog - not doing a lot of 'focused training'.
You probably are already doing all this, but including speedwork, distance and tempo runs in your training with the cross-training is probably the way to go.

They have a sample 1/2Marathon training plan on the Runner's World website:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-238-244-258-9369-0,00.html

Good luck!

Edited: I accidentally put the wrong times before - just checked in my log. The average ends up being around 33 anyways!
Took me a long time to be able to run the full 5K and slowly have been speeding up.

UpToAnyCool

There are plenty of short statured world-class runners and ultramarathoners!
Joan Benoit Samuelson is 5'-2", I believe, and Ann Trason is 5'-4"!!!