Trop“The Fairest of them all”
The ever-looming question of marathons is, “Are men better runners than women”? “Is it fair to allow men and women to compete against each other in a sport like running?”
The “Whole” Truth
From times immemorial, all of us were under the impression that men are better runners than women. Sad, but true!
Research has also stated than women run ten percent slower than men at all distances. However, when it comes to marathons, women often walk off with the awards and trophies! to We attribute this to their better approach towards running. Women are known to maintain their pace throughout the marathon, unlike men who mostly known to begin at a faster pace, but burn out much faster and slow down towards the end. Even research testifies this. You would be surprised by the results of a massive research study conducted by a competitive runner named Jens Jakob Anderson.
Results: The research was done over 131 races conducted in five different years and includes the data of about 1.8 million marathons. It depicts that women are better than men at maintaining a consistent pace throughout the marathon; the real successful strategy of winning.
The Explanation
The same research conducted by Jens Jakob Andersen also reflects that women tend to slow down 18.6 percent less than men in the second part of marathons. Who is to blame?
The male testosterone pushes them to begin harder and faster initially. Men are also known to be more competitive and in a bid to win over the competition do not mind taking the enhanced risk. Conversely, women are keener on the benefits of running than winning over the competition. This keeps them away from taking risks. Moreover, men have bigger hearts, which allow them to take in and move around oxygen better than women. This is why they can head faster and harder initially. However, they burn off towards the second part and often slow down towards the finale.
Therefore, a smarter strategy to perform better in marathons, for both men and women is to run at a consistent pace. This will not happen overnight. Training is the key to success. As important as it is to work out and run to train the body for marathons, it is also important to spend sufficient training time on the pace at which the runner plans to run in the race.
Women in Running
The many benefits of marathons are ruling out the misconceptions of men vs women in running. More and more women are participating in marathons like Iron Girl and Running USA. The Runner’s World magazine now proudly boasts of a more than 50 percent female readership compared to five percent in 1970. What’s more; running events like Iron Girl have opened doors for female runners to participate in marathons.
However, female runners must focus more on the intake of minerals like calcium and iron. Proper training and diet is the secret to winning marathons. Another important tip is to avoid giving in to the temptation of increasing the pace when the crowd cheers. Maintaining the pace is a big plus and great strategy for winners.
