High Heart rate when running

[Idizzy1]

Just curious, as I know everyone is different, but ever since I’ve been running proper (not just for a bus I mean) I’ve had a heart rate that has raised eyebrows in other runners when I mention it, on a regular basis.

Other than a very red face, it doesn’t effect me, I feel fine, and it just bobbles along averaging 170 ish. As an example the picture on top is 5k at 11:07 m/mile and and the bottom one is 10:37 m/mile from Brighton 10k

Has anyone else experienced this? I’m going to do some more slow and long runs to try and build stamina now I can sustain 5k and 10ks easily.

For context I try and do 1 day fast intervals in a track, 1 race paced 5k at Parkrun and then slow and steady 10k, once a week.

[AnnieW55]

Mine has always been high and, like you, never seems to bother me. I just have to think exercise and my heart rate goes up! Some years ago I was training for a cycling event, the Etape du Tour (a stage of the Tour de France ridden by amatures). After some months of training, including the hills of Yorkshire and Derbyshire I had a fitness test at a new gym (where I had also been doing spinning classes a couple of times a week)....... the verdict was that I was as fit as the average couch potato mainly due to heart rate exercise levels 😮. My rate when resting in the cafe during/after ride outs was always higher than anyone else's in the group.

Just done my fastest HM 2:14 and during training my heart rate averages were in the high 150s-170s for many training runs. So I gave up worrying about it ages ago as I can't see it changing after many years (over 40) of always doing some form of exercise, strenuous or otherwise.

[JaySeeSkinny Graduate10]

It seems high according to the "normal" rules. But we're all different and as long as you feel fine I wouldn't worry too much. I used to have a high resting heart rate, but exercise has brought it well down. I still shoot up really quickly when I run though, although I have got better and I do try to keep my heart-rate lower on most of my runs. It means I've got a lot slower though, which is frustrating. But then I'm never going to win any races and I'm doing this to maintain fitness, so I try not to fret too much!

[Bluerockdragon Graduate10]

I hit 193 last year and suffered no ill effects at all, apart from a bright red face and lots of gasping for breath... thought that could be normal after a fast run, up a gentle incline My resting HR is about 50. I guess some people just have a large heart rate range.

[davelinks Graduate10]

heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyL...

[IannodaTruffe Graduate10]

Without knowing your age it is difficult to know whether that is a particularly high heart rate. Max heart rate theoretically decreases with age. One crude calculation for your max heart rate is 210- your age.

[haremali]

I have the same condition, my maximum heart rate was 178 when I was running, and my resting heart rate is 50-55 , I think its normal acording to your age,

my running heart rate