People come in all different shapes and sizes. Some of the fastest marathon runners tend to be on the taller side with longer legs for those wide strides as they zoom along the track. Previously, researchers set out to explore if tall, leggy runners performed better in warmer climates compared to shorter, stockier people.
We’re all affected by the climate when we’re running. Sometimes, I find running in the high heat makes me overheat because I already feel warmer when working out. It turns out that, as well as training and other factors, body shape plays a role when it comes to running performance in certain climates. Let’s look at this interesting research.
The study
In a study published in the Journal PLOS One, researchers assessed the body sizes, shapes, and performance of 171 triathletes who had finished at least two Ironman events, one in a hot location and another in a cold climate. The researchers used software to measure athletes’ physiques based on the competition photos.
The Ironman contestants had to:
- swim for 2.4 miles
- cycle for 180 km
- run for 42.2 km
The researchers pointed out how running, in particular, is more important in the evolution of humans compared to swimming and cycling. They discussed natural selection and noted that the fastest men became the best hunters when it came to evolution.
The results
The researchers concluded that tall, leggy runners performed better in warmer climates, and shorter, stockier people performed better in colder temperatures. They stated that this effect is only seen in men and more in running than cycling and swimming.
Study author, Ryan Calsbeek, shared that this indicates that human physiology could be adapted to climate to optimize physical performance. In other words, the global patterns of climate and temperature could have helped shape human body types to look and perform a certain way.
Animals in hotter climates often have longer limbs to stay cool more efficiently. In contrast, animals adapted more to colder climates are often burlier, with thicker and shorter limbs to limit heat loss.
Concluding thoughts
Some taller male endurance athletes with longer legs might naturally do better racing in hotter climates than others. More research is needed, but it seems that taller people with longer legs could quite possibly have a genetic advantage that allows them to run that much faster in those higher temperatures.
