Will women outrun men in ultra-marathon road races from 50 km to 1,000 km?

Matthias Alexander Zingg,Klaus Karner-Rezek,Thomas Rosemann,Romuald Lepers,Beat Knechtle,Christoph Alexander Rüst

doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-97

Matthias Alexander Zingg, Klaus Karner-Rezek + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-3-97

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Journal: SpringerPlus	Publication Date: Feb 18, 2014
Citations: 39	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of Zurich, University of Burgundy, Inserm

Abstract

It has been assumed that women would be able to outrun men in ultra-marathon running. The present study investigated the sex differences in running speed in ultra-marathons held worldwide from 50 km to 1,000 km. Changes in running speeds and the sex differences in running speeds in the annual fastest finishers in 50 km, 100 km, 200 km and 1,000 km events held worldwide from 1969–2012 were analysed using linear, non-linear and multi-level regression analyses. For the annual fastest and the annual ten fastest finishers, running speeds increased non-linearly in 50 km and 100 km, but not in 200 km and 1,000 km where running speeds remained unchanged for the annual fastest. The sex differences decreased non-linearly in 50 km and 100 km, but not in 200 and 1,000 km where the sex difference remained unchanged for the annual fastest. For the fastest women and men ever, the sex difference in running speed was lowest in 100 km (5.0%) and highest in 50 km (15.4%). For the ten fastest women and men ever, the sex difference was lowest in 100 km (10.0 ± 3.0%) and highest in 200 km (27.3 ± 5.7%). For both the fastest (r2 = 0.003, p = 0.82) and the ten fastest finishers ever (r2 = 0.34, p = 0.41) in 50 km, 100 km, 200 km and 1,000 km, we found no correlation between sex difference in performance and running speed. To summarize, the sex differences in running speeds decreased non-linearly in 50 km and 100 km but remained unchanged in 200 km and 1,000 km, and the sex differences in running speeds showed no change with increasing length of the race distance. These findings suggest that it is very unlikely that women will ever outrun men in ultra-marathons held from 50 km to 100 km.

Highlights

Ultra-marathon running, i.e. running over distances longer than the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 km, is becoming increasingly popular (Hoffman 2010; Hoffman and Krishnan 2013; Hoffman and Wegelin 2009; Zingg et al 2013a, b, c)
For both women and men, the annual fastest finishers improved in 50 km and 100 km, but not in 200 km and 1,000 km, when corrected for multiple finishes (Table 1)
This study examined the sex differences in running speeds in ultra-marathons held worldwide from 50 km to 1,000 km and it was hypothesized that the sex differences would decrease across years and with increasing length of a race

Summary

Introduction

Ultra-marathon running, i.e. running over distances longer than the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 km, is becoming increasingly popular (Hoffman 2010; Hoffman and Krishnan 2013; Hoffman and Wegelin 2009; Zingg et al 2013a, b, c). It has been suggested that the sex difference in running should disappear with increasing distance, in race distances longer than the marathon (Bam et al 1997). This suggestion was primarily based on differences in fuel utilization, muscle damage following exercise, relative improvements in performance over the past decades, and on the analysis of marathon versus ultra-marathon performances of men and women (Bam et al 1997). A potential physiological advantage for women may be a greater fatigue resistance compared to trained men in ultra-marathons (Bam et al 1997)

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