I KNEW it! It just takes the right distance and you boys are toast.
Fast Women
by Don Mell
Compiled by Don Mell, from readily available information from the University of Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Women don’t slow down:
Why is it that women don’t slow down as much as men do when they go for the long one?
If a man and woman cross the finish line of a 10K race at the same time, you can usually be sure of one thing: the woman will beat the man if they run a marathon together, in spite of their similar 10-K times.
Women will beat men:
The simple truth is that women slow down less than men as race distances increase. This trend toward female superiority as races lengthen is especially true when one moves to very long, backbreaking competitions. For example, research has determined that female runners with the same 10-K times as a group of men will beat those men by more than 30 minutes if they are challenged to a 90-K race.
South Africa Studies:
Surprisingly (to those accustomed to thinking about male distance-running superiority), studies carried out in South Africa indicate that women can beat men with similar VO2max and running-economy values - as long as the distance is greater than about 24K. Below that distance, the sexes are evenly matched - or else males tend to win when VO2max and economy are the same. Strangely enough, exercise scientists, who normally can explain even the most unusual aspects of endurance exercise, haven’t been exactly sure why this is so.
Comparing Female and Male Runners:
To learn more about the phenomenon, scientists at the University of Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg, South Africa, recently compared 10 experienced female runners with 10 proficient males, analyzing their times at selected 10-K, half- marathon, marathon, and 90-K races. Each subject was tested for VO2max, running economy, lactate threshold, and percent body fat. Each runner also completed training histories and psychological tests (the Profile of Mood States, or POMS, and Personal Motivation, or PM). The 10-K, half- marathon, and marathon races were all held at an altitude of 5900 feet (males and females competed together in the same races), while the 90-K affair (the Comrades Marathon) was run at sea level.
Marathon Times:
The men and women were alike in many ways. Prior to the study, the females normally ran the marathon in an average time of 3:36, while the males did it in about 3:39 (this difference wasn’t statistically significant). Average age (34 years) and running economy were identical, and both males and females trained about five times a week, had been training for three years, and covered about 12K per workout. Average intensity of training (about five minutes per kilometer) was also equivalent in the two groups.
Males held some advantages:
In spite of that, the males held some advantages. Fat-free mass was 33 per cent greater in the men, percent body fat was 27 per cent lower (16 versus 22 per cent), and VO2max was around 6 per cent higher (54.6 versus 51.5 ml/kg.min). Note that in spite of these edges, the male marathon times were no better than those of the females.
How did they do in races?
Males ran a little faster than females in the 10K, running at an average speed of 233.2 meters per minute; compared with 227.4 for the women (10-K times of 42:53 and 43:59, respectively). And males were still a nip faster in the half-marathon, too, at 213.8 meters per minute against 211.8 (1:38:42 versus 1:39:37).
Females are faster in the full marathon:
In contrast, females tended to be a bit faster in the marathon, coursing along at 194.8 meters per minute, compared with 192.6 for males (that’s 3:36:38 versus 3:39:06). And in the 90K, it wasn’t even close: females sizzled along, relatively speaking, at 171 meters per minute, while males were almost 10-per cent slower at 155.2 meters per minute. The males were almost an hour behind the females in the Comrades race!
Women were burning more calories:
The Witwatersrand researchers found the female runners moved along at an intensity of 84.4% VO2max in the 10K, while males were content to cruise at 79.9%. In the half-marathon, the difference was 78.7 to 73.5%. In the marathon, it was 73.4 to 66.3%. And in the 90K, the gap widened to 59.8 versus 50.2%. In each case, the women were working at higher percentages of their maximum capacities and burning about 3% more calories per minute.
Female sex hormones:
Could the key female sex hormone “estrogen” somehow be responsible for female endurance in long distances? Or are women just the stronger sex?
September/October 2008 Southern Cahfornia Bicyclist
