Small plump people can go running. Long distance running too. The principles that will be explained here can be used by natural athletes too - but who cares about them?
Here's the secret. Go slowly enough to not get puffed.
I'll explain later about aerobic fitness and oxygen supply, but anyone can do this if they have some privacy and a little courage.
Actually a lot of courage.
This makes landing on the moon, or skydiving look like - well something not very brave.

What to wear?
What happens to your muscles when you exercise?
Food and Body Size
Nutritonal Breakthroughs
More about Water
Big Brains, Small Hearts
Getting Started

Oxygen Supply

When your muscles are getting all the oxygen you need, it is called aerobic exercise.
When your muscles have used all the oxygen they have and are screaming for more, it is called anaerobic exercise. Weight trainers do this. And sprinters.
If you exercise so that you can continue without having to stop for breath, you are doing aerobic exercise. You can continue doing this kind of exercise for ages. Forever really - well you eventually get tired - but not so puffed that you have to stop.
A lot of sporty types think that aerobic exercise means exercise when you are gasping for breath. This is not the case.
I don't mean that you don't puff, you just don't puff so much that you can't go on. (This is called Steady State - the level where you can continue; and Maximum Steady State is the highest level where you can keep going without a break)

What happens when you do aerobic exercise?

Your heart beats faster and sends more blood around your body. This challenges your blood system to create more capillaries (tiny tiny veins) through your muscles.
Also your muscles are working and they get challenged to get looser and grow stronger.
These things happen overnight, after you've exercised.
And another thing. The increased circulation makes it easier for goodies in your blood to get to hard-to-reach places, like your cartilages.

How your blood system works.

Your blood runs from your heart, under pressure to the bit of your body that needs it, like your nose or your knee, then poof! it sqeezes through your capillaries (tiny tiny veins - or arteries, blood vessels, whatever you call them). While it squeezes through these capillaries, all the goodies in the blood (oxygen, sugar, letters from home) soak through the cell walls into the cells, and all the left overs from the yummy meal you cells have been having, soak out, back into your blood (and those left overs eventually get taken out of your blood again by your kidneys and what have you).
Once your blood is through your capillaries it goes into your veins which are not under pressure like your arteries are, so it makes its way slowly back to your heart and lungs for another circuit. It can then go down to your kidneys, or your intestines and liver, or your brain. They all work the same way, stuff soaking in and out of cells. No moving parts! (except your heart) (and lungs).

Getting back to long distance running for small plump persons

I personally am a small (five feet tall) plump (who isn't?) person. I do long distance running. (three half marathons so far). I have (nearly) every disadvantage you need to keep you out of running - tight ligaments, short muscles with no stretch, bouncy bits, no groovy outfits etc etc. I also live in a city with almost no flat ground, so all the running I do is up and down (big) hills. Until recently I lived at 1000 feet and worked at sea level (New Zealand cities are like that).

If you like this page you can email me at sarahlizard@hotmail.com

I live in New Zealand but I understand there are small plump people elsewhere, too.