When I was 25 and 143...

The current issue of Runner’s World has an article on finding your optimal running weight. It discusses various aspects about the cost of carrying dead weight. I like the simple heuristic that each pound of extra weigth will cost you 2 seconds per mile. This seems consistent with the popular rule of thumb that a percent decrease in extra weight yeilds a percent improvement in race time.

Another feature of the article is mention of a University of Dayton guy, Paul Vanderburgh, who came up with the race performance equivalence calculator. This calc takes your race time, age and weight and adjusts your race time to the equivalent of what it would be if you were an optimal 25 years old and weighed 143 pounds. Last I checked the USATF is not accepting this equivalent value, so for now it remains just a self esteem booster. Might be useful in handicapping race wagers.