This weekend I am running in the Regent Run Around the Square, my first 5k race since 2006 and my first Run Around the Square since 2002. The last time I ran in that race, I entered the "heavyweight" division. If you know me, you know that although I am not skinny, I am certainly not a heavyweight. And even if I were, isn't it more important to be healthy and in shape? Which I am. How else could I run 3 to 4 miles on a regular basis? (Okay, I have not run 4 miles since the beginning of June, and I sometimes let two weeks go by before I run again. But during the school year, I was a regular runner, and trust me, I am doing just fine now.)
Who thinks up these things? Don't enough women have self-image problems without being made to feel fat when they are not (and even if they are overweight, why make a big deal about it)? Luckily for me, I think fairly highly of my physical self; at the very least, I (mostly) accept what I have, try to work on it somewhat, and just be thankful I can do what I do. And although I thought the heavyweight division was stupid, I felt inclined to join in. Why? Well, mostly because back then I was in the best shape of my life. Sure I might have weighed about 150 pounds (the cutoff is 145, but I could have sworn back then it was an even more ridiculous 140), but my body fat was around 18 percent. I was at the gym six to seven days a week doing various types of cardio and lifting weights. Entering that division was like snubbing my nose at the man. And surely a man must have come up with that weight cutoff.
The other reason I decided to check the heavyweight box on my application was because I would have to get weighed in on race day. I felt pretty confident that not too many women would want to admit being over 140/145 pounds (whatever it was then), but I was even more sure that only a handful would want to get on a scale in front of a stranger. So I figured I had a pretty good chance at coming home with some hardware, something that was important back then to a competitive me.
And I was right. In the end, I was the proud recipient of a second-place trophy in what my coworker/fellow runner and I affectionately called the "Big Girls' Trophy." I paraded that baby around the office as if it were my baby. I kept it for years, sadly disposing of it a few years ago when we put our house on the market. Wish I still had it!
Eight years later and not nearly in as good of shape, I again checked the heavyweight division box. I still think at 5'8" and just under 150 pounds, I am not overweight, but if someone wants to consider me that, whatever. Even if I don't end up with a trophy this year (and I am 99 percent sure I won't), I am hopeful this big girl can finish the race with my head held high.
Wish me luck.
Who thinks up these things? Don't enough women have self-image problems without being made to feel fat when they are not (and even if they are overweight, why make a big deal about it)? Luckily for me, I think fairly highly of my physical self; at the very least, I (mostly) accept what I have, try to work on it somewhat, and just be thankful I can do what I do. And although I thought the heavyweight division was stupid, I felt inclined to join in. Why? Well, mostly because back then I was in the best shape of my life. Sure I might have weighed about 150 pounds (the cutoff is 145, but I could have sworn back then it was an even more ridiculous 140), but my body fat was around 18 percent. I was at the gym six to seven days a week doing various types of cardio and lifting weights. Entering that division was like snubbing my nose at the man. And surely a man must have come up with that weight cutoff.
The other reason I decided to check the heavyweight box on my application was because I would have to get weighed in on race day. I felt pretty confident that not too many women would want to admit being over 140/145 pounds (whatever it was then), but I was even more sure that only a handful would want to get on a scale in front of a stranger. So I figured I had a pretty good chance at coming home with some hardware, something that was important back then to a competitive me.
And I was right. In the end, I was the proud recipient of a second-place trophy in what my coworker/fellow runner and I affectionately called the "Big Girls' Trophy." I paraded that baby around the office as if it were my baby. I kept it for years, sadly disposing of it a few years ago when we put our house on the market. Wish I still had it!
Eight years later and not nearly in as good of shape, I again checked the heavyweight division box. I still think at 5'8" and just under 150 pounds, I am not overweight, but if someone wants to consider me that, whatever. Even if I don't end up with a trophy this year (and I am 99 percent sure I won't), I am hopeful this big girl can finish the race with my head held high.
Wish me luck.
Comments
Barb
I bet your right that a man must have come up with that.
And is there a Lightweight category? Also not a good connotation.
Yeah, just watch me get on a scale in front of a bunch of people...NOT!
Even if that weight applies to you, you don't have to check the box/weigh in on raceday. And I think the scale is kind of off to the side, and one person confirms your weight. But, remember, I chose to enter that division (as stupid as it is).
They do still have age groups. Back when I was ultra-competitive, I knew I had a better chance of coming away with a trophy in the Big Girl's division for the reasons I mentioned. In fact, I think I ended up around 20th in my age group back then.
Thanks for your comments, ladies. I am considering saying something to someone about it.
The reason that this and most other races have a "heavyweight" division is because most competive runners are extremely thin, and this gives people with normal weights who still like to run, a chance to compete in a category with others who arent marathon-thin. It's a good thing, the division exists for men and women, and it just means that you don't have to compete against rail-thin hard-core runners who would naturally have an advantage over you in distance running.
I am 6'5", weigh 195 lbs and have almost no body fat. I am running in the "heavyweight" division. From the looks of the other comments here, I think too many people are too anxious to feel like victims these days...