"Women are better than men at marathon pacing, says new research"

Submitted by Mastodon on Sat, 2015-01-24 08:40

Article here. Excerpt:

'Women are better at running marathons than men. That’s the conclusion of a comprehensive study of marathon results that appears to confirm what previous research had suggested.

But before Dennis Kimetto and Wilson Kipsang disagree, what the results of the huge survey actually show is that women are simply better - 18.61% better, to be precise – at maintaining a consistent pace across the duration of the 26.2 miles. Whether that is because men overestimate their abilities, women underestimate theirs – or because there are physical differences that affect performance, is open to speculation – and requires more research.
...
So, why? The researchers suggest it all might reflect differences in psychology and decision making – and of course age. A previous study, looking solely at the Chicago marathon, suggested some other possible factors. First, that when running at the “submaximal intensity” required to complete a marathon, women might burn a higher percentage of fat than men. This would mean they are less likely to hit “the wall’ – the point when glycogen is depleted. Second, and this applies specifically to marathons in warmer weather, “women tend to have a larger surface area-to-mass ratio than men, allowing them to dissipate a larger percentage of heat produced by running”.'

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Comments

Defined by what objective criteria?

The only objective criteria I'm aware of is time-to-complete. And while plenty of women can finish 26 mi. a lot sooner than I can, tell me, when was the last time you heard that the world's fastest women was faster than her male counterpart when running a marathon?

As for the rigged photo-finishes at the NYC marathon and others where a woman's first across the line, what announcers usually leave out is that the women got an hour or more's head start.

Feminism isn't about equality; it's about diminishing, reducing, marginalizing, and eventually eliminating men. Any means to further that goal or sub-goal's fine by them. Rigging actual or perceived outcomes to favor women and sponsoring junk science for same is all in the realm.

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Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2015-01-25 20:52

This study seems rather pointless. How is this information going to help humankind in any way? My literal response to this is: BFD.

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Submitted by xtrnl on Wed, 2015-01-28 22:56