Affiliation:
1. Exercise Science Program, Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic and Human Performance Research Center, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, USA
2. University School of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Introduction
Males are faster than females in the marathon, largely due to sex differences in physiology, but sociological factors influencing lower participation rates of females than males may also contribute.
Purpose
This study aimed to determine whether the sex difference in marathon performance is predicted by the proportion of male to female runners and how this prediction changes among lower-placed runners across age groups.
Methods
The number of male and female finishers within 5-yr age groups (20–79 yr) and times of the first 10 age-group runners in the Chicago (CHI; 1996–2018) and New York City (NYC; 1980–2019) marathons were analyzed.
Results
The male/female participation ratio declined across years for the CHI (1996–2018: 2.19–1.16, P < 0.001) and NYC (1980–2019: 6.76–1.36, P < 0.001) marathons, but increased with age (P < 0.001) and place (1st–10th place, P < 0.001). Male runners were faster than female runners across all age groups for the CHI (17.2% ± 6.8%, n = 2328) and NYC (18.8% ± 7.4%, n = 4226) marathons. The sex difference in performance was smallest for 1st-place and largest for 10th-place finishers for both marathons. The ratio of the number of male to female runners was associated with the sex difference in velocity for NYC (r
2 = 0.32, P < 0.001) and CHI (r
2 = 0.28, P < 0.001). The strength of the associations increased between 1st and 10th places.
Conclusions
Fewer female relative to male runners in an age group predicted a larger sex difference in performance in two world-class marathons. Low participation rates of female runners mask an accurate understanding of the sex differences in marathon performance due to physiology, with broader implications for women’s health in biomedical research.
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Cited by
1 articles.
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