When setting your pace in a long race, are you better off being female?

A recent study suggests that women are more likely to be consistent in their pacing during a race than their male counterparts says the NY Times in a recent article.

During marathons, men are more likely to slow down during the race as compared to women according to recent reports. While this new information does not suggest a reason why the phenomenon occurs, women definitely show themselves to more reliably maintain their pace during a race.

Check out the article here

Women Pace Marathons Better Than Men Do

by GRETCHEN REYNOLDS”

During marathons, women pace themselves more evenly than male competitors do, according to a study of thousands of racers. The results provide unexpected insights into some of the physical and emotional differences between male and female runners, and also how both genders might improve their race times by noting how the other one runs.

Anyone who has competed in or seen a marathon knows that maintaining a steady speed throughout the 26.2 miles is advisable. People who start the race at a fast pace generally have to slow and even walk or zombie shuffle as the race goes on.

A few small studies and many anecdotal observations had suggested that men were more apt than women to wind up slowing. But no large-scale examination of marathon racers had confirmed that.

So for the new study, which was published last month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise , researchers at Marquette University in Milwaukee; the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.; and Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., began by gathering data about the finishers at 14 marathons. The races included prominent ones, such as the Chicago and Disney marathons, and smaller events. Some were conducted in warm weather, others in chilly conditions, with terrain ranging from hilly to pancake-flat

The researchers wound up with information about 91,929 marathon participants, almost 42 percent of them women. The data covered all adult age groups and a wide range of finishing times.