You know, there are tincans with 8 athletics...
Weight DOES affect your movement speed. Clad yourself in full plate and carry a great maul and 3 siege ladders and you will notice.
I think the main point here is that weight doesn't affect movement speed or weapon speed
enough. This is also my opinion that I have - That armor weight and weapon weight doesn't affect movement speed or weapon speed like it should to make the game more balanced, and less about leveling.
Maybe someone should do some outdoor tests on a football field? Run a 40 yard dash in a track uniform (light jersey, shorts, and sprint shoes). Time this run and scale it in-game to use as "Speed 100." I have to believe that even football players can run a 40 yard dash quite a bit quicker in track uniforms than in full football uniform. Now we're talking about light weight poly here... Next level up is leather, then chain, then plated.
To me, there just isn't enough difference in weight. Don't get me wrong, someone who is overall more "fit" and can "lift" more weight than another person will be less fatigued by additional weight, but the scale in which cRPG is setup is very unrealistic, which is why the main "appeal" is more armor, rather than less weight.
I also think that weight should have more affect on weapons than it does running speed. Running speed for the most part deals with velocity, and not acceleration, while weapon speed is much more depend on acceleration than velocity. Weight should affect acceleration much more than it does velocity, thus weapon speed should see more affect due to weight increases, when compared to running speed. I understand, by nature, that weapons will have certain speeds at which they are used. That's due to acceleration as well (Force/Mass). It should be the armor/overall weight that affects weapon speed more than the weapon itself (in most cases).