The biggest reason is I don't like the typical runner's physique. It does come across as a fit body, but does not do so as a strong one. I want to project myself not only as a fit person but also as a strong man. The typical runner's physique doesn't do the job well. This is my aesthetic reason.
There is also a physiological reason as well. When your body has a decent amount of muscle mass, it burns a very large number of calories daily through basic metabolism and exercise metabolism. Suppose there are two people of the same weight. One has 10 % less muscle mass than the other. The one with less muscle mass burns fewer calories after doing the exactly same workout. So the more muscle you have, the more calories you can burn from any exercise.
However, there is a demerit as well. In long-distance running, light body weight offers an immediate advantage. Imagine you weigh 63 kg at one time. Then imagine you weigh 61 kg at another time. Suppose your cardio-vascular capacity is the same, you are mostly likely to run a lot faster when you weigh 61 kg. If you weigh 1 kg more as a result of increasing the muscle mass of your chest through muscle training, it means you carry one extra kilogram of dumbbell that makes no positive contribution whatsoever to improving your running ability. So that's bad news if you are trying to renew your PR in a race.
But then again, running my best time is not the most important goal of my fitness endeavor. I want to continue to become a stronger version of myself in terms of many criteria. Endurance is one of them, but not the only thing I'm after. Strength is important. Explosiveness is necessary. Agility is also a must. Flexibility, in my opinion, is also part of the total picture. So I do not want to sacrifice muscle mass too much over the athletic advantage associated with the lightness of the typical runner's physique.
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