{"id":2733,"date":"2025-09-01T10:21:37","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T02:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=2733"},"modified":"2025-09-02T16:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T08:40:07","slug":"why-endurance-events-like-marathons-should-have-weight-divisions-for-heavier-runners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/why-endurance-events-like-marathons-should-have-weight-divisions-for-heavier-runners\/","title":{"rendered":"Why endurance events like marathons should have weight divisions for heavier\u00a0runners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"\/
Ben Stern\/Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In sports such as wrestling, boxing, rowing, weight lifting and the martial arts, athletes are grouped by weight to make things fairer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wouldn\u2019t make sense for someone who weighs 60 kilograms to fight someone who weighs 100kg, because the bigger person usually has more power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why weight divisions exist, so the result depends more on skill than just size and strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some endurance events incorporate weight divisions, they rarely feature in running\u2019s toughest events like marathons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Triathlons leading the way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Weight divisions are becoming common in some endurance sports, such as triathlons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Categories such as Clydesdale (for heavier men) and Athena (for heavier women) are used, usually for people who weigh more than 90-100kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These divisions give bigger athletes a chance to race against others like them, which many believe makes the competition feel fairer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the three modes in Ironman distance triathlons (running, cycling and swimming), running has been recognised to be the most affected by a person\u2019s body type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet many marathons still don\u2019t have weight divisions, especially in Australia, where the marathon scene continues to progress: Sydney\u2019s upcoming marathon was recently announced as the seventh member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, joining the world\u2019s most prestigious events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why aren\u2019t weight divisions a part of Australia\u2019s marathon scene?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people think running is about personal achievement, not competition, so there\u2019s no need for different categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others believe adding weigh-ins could be awkward or hard to organise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And some just prefer keeping things the way they\u2019ve always been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running gets harder if you\u2019re heavier<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Age groupings are provided by most endurance events, yet research suggests body weight also needs to be considered as a major predictor of running performance in marathons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists and running experts agree: being heavier makes running harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not about effort or determination, it\u2019s about physics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you weigh more, it takes more energy to move your body. You get tired faster, your joints take more impact and your heart works harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s just how the body works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A slender body type has been widely recognised by research as having greater success in marathon running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larger body types are generally more suited to sports such as rugby, although many of course enjoy endurance running events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a practical example. Analysing the times of 20,000 runners across running events lasting more than 10 kilometres, an accountant in the United States discovered a 95kg man who runs a 10km event in 51 minutes is performing as well as a 68kg man who finishes in 38 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavier runners are often slower and more vulnerable to the increased stress on their bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can reduce running efficiency, even if they train just as much as lighter runners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re less fit or less committed, it just means that due to carrying more weight, they are often dealing with more air resistance, increased forces on their body, challenges on hills and are less able to regulate their body temperature through every kilometre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are now weight versus pace calculators that can predict a 100kg athlete who can run a marathon in four hours could be 10 minutes quicker if they lost five kilograms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others refer to the \u201c1% rule\u201d which outlines a 1% increase in body weight can drop running pace by the same percentage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some endurance running events are now including weight divisions \u2013 mainly in the United States but they\u2019re also starting to emerge in Canada and New Zealand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n