Indeed a phenomanal performance. Congratulations to Paula.
Historically across the board, women's world records, in most sports events have been about 10% behind men's. There have been some exceptions and in endurance events, where woman may have some metabolic advantages( possbily more efficiant fat metabolism) the gap does seem to be narrowing.
Ratcliffe's performaces of late are a bit of a throwback to the men's marathon runners of a few years ago - being at there 10K and marathon best at the virtally the same time.
It's a good lesson to study. You are at your best for a marathon when you are in your best 10K form with some slight modifications. How do you get fit for a 10K? - get fit for a 5K. What is the best indicator of 5K performace? Your time from a 800m to 1K race.
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog