Are Female Runners Less Competitive Than Male?

Are you a female runner? Do you agree with the above? That female runners are on average, less competitive than their male counterparts. Is it easier to win a prize in running races in the female category compared to the male category? Please read on to find out.

Researchers studied data from the New York City marathon over a period of 31 years seem to think so. The timings of the first 10 positions of both male and female runners between 20 and 79 years (in 5 year age brackets) were analysed between 1980-2010.

The authors were not saying the female runners were not fast, rather the women who finished in say 7th, 8th, 20th etc behind the female race winner were often farther back compared to the 7th, 8th and 20th place male finisher. In short, the 10th place female may be 15 percent behind the female winner as compared to 10 percent for the 10th placed male runner compared the male winner.

The researchers found that a big reason could be due to lower participation rates of women. In the older age groups, there were a lot more male racers compared to females. When more women participate, it gets harder to place and the top 10 women get more competitive.

It is also interesting to note that exercise physiologists agree that physiological attributes like VO2 max, lactate threshold and running threshold do not play a part..

A psychologist, Robert O Deaner (who runs marathons) has published many articles on why female runners are less competitive than male. He suggests that male runners are more motivated than female runners to chalk up high training volumes and intensive training for elite performances.

His views probably won't win him any popularity votes I guess. You can access some of his papers here.

So, what about you? Why do you think on average female runners are less competitive than males? Is it really easier to win a prize in the local female category as compared to the male category?  Let's hear your views.

Reference
Hunter SK and Stevens AA (2013). Sex Difference in Marathon running with Advanced Age: Physiology or Participation? Med Sci Sports Exerc. Jan 45(1) : 148-156.

* Picture by richseow in Flickr.com

Who Came For Hydrotherapy Today?

Who's that jumping?

I've been going to the pool fairly regularly (especially since that's the safest exercise/ rehabilitation I can do after my bike accident and often alone too.

Occasionally I get Ronald Susilo (former Olympian, Sportsman of the Year) joining me. Recently he was actually planning to play in the current ongoing Li Ning Singapore Super Series Badminton Open and he requested joining me at hydrotherapy to do some conditioning. (Alas, he did not get his chance, but that's a different story).

Now, Ronald and I go back a long way, I've been treating Ronald since the late 1990's, way before he became a household name in badminton. We've done hydrotherapy previously while he and the rest of the Singapore Badminton team were preparing for the Olympics.

And, surprise surprise, he showed up with 2 of his young charges today at the pool for some conditioning with him, with me taking charge - just like the old days.

Ronald taking a rest

Now, it was with dismay that I read in the papers today that all 3 of our male local shuttlers were knocked in the qualifiers yesterday and so Singapore will not have any representation in the main draw of the Men Singles today.

So hopefully, with today's session and more, Ronald's young players will do well enough to do us proud at subsequent Singapore Open's and more.

All the best at the tournament, Team Singapore.

Minimalist Running Shoe Fad Over? Or Not Quite...

Minimalist running shoes from Runnersworld.com

Headlines for the running community that you runners may want to know. Despite running shoes sales growing 8 % for the first quarter of 2013, sales of minimalist shoes declined more than 10 % during the same period.

This is in contrast to past few years' quarterly reports where the minimalist shoe category had the highest growth while sales in the motion control and stability segment stagnated or fell.

What drove sales of running shoes this past quarter surprisingly was motion control and stability shoes which grew > 25 % and 10 % respectively. A real reversal of sorts it seems.

An running shoe industry observer even commented that the "minimalist shoe fad is pretty much over."

So, do we take the report as the headlines suggest? That there are decreasing number of runners buying and wearing minimalist running shoes and perhaps even reverting back to the more chunky counterparts?

Well, my personal take on this is, hold your horses. A line from the running report said that "Lightweight, which remains the largest sub category, grew in the low teens." This minimalist (or barefoot) trend has definitely influenced and even resulted in running shoes becoming lighter across the board. Other design elements like low or zero drop midsoles, wide toeboxes etc have been transferred to other shoe categories. The whole running shoe market has shifted toward lighter, simpler shoes to give you, the runner a much wider choice than before.

If you recall, it wasn't that long ago when you went to a running shoe store and your options were pretty much limited to relatively heavy and chunky (> 12mm drop) shoes from brands that was classified as neutral, stability or motion control. Those days are long gone (although many medical professionals here in Singapore who have not kept in touch still insist on those categories) and the market has shifted and studies have shown that the previous model of fitting shoes were not effective.

Probably the most important issue now is how to choose your running shoes given the wide variety you now have.

By the way, I just got a minimalist/ barefoot running inspired shoe for my wife. She loves her new running shoes. A clue that "the fad" is not quite dead yet perhaps?

A pair of Merrell's for my wife

Those of you who work in the Singapore running shoe retail stores may have the latest trends probably, some comments here would be appreciated.

 * Footnote - Nike Free running shoes were not included in the minimalist shoe category as SportsOneSource (the company doing the statistics, SportsOneSource) felt that a lot of people buying Nike Free shoes are not real runners.

* Some numbers for those of you keen on statistics, most of the core running brands all had strong sales increases. Brooks and Mizuno improved about 40 %, Asics about 25 %, Saucony in the low teens and Nike in the high teens.  Under Armour running (not common here in Singapore) doubled for the year so far.

 To buck the trend, both Adidas and Reebok declined sharply in their share of running shoe sales.

Down But Definitely Not Out

Down but not out

I only managed to catch the last quarter of the 2013 NBA finals Game 1 this morning. It was a real cracker to say the least, especially Tony Parker during the closing moments of the game.

Now, I wasn't a big fan of Tony Parker or the San Antonio Spurs (or coach Gregg Popovich - I'm a big fan of Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan) previously, but now Parker is definitely my favourite player in this finals.

Let me try and describe what happened in the last 31.3 seconds of the game. Parker tried to run the clock down so as to leave as little time as possible for Miami while giving his side a chance to extend their lead. He almost lost the ball a few times, then he slipped and went on one knee on the court (picture above).

He managed to keep the ball, eluded Lebron James' defences and even managed to double-pump the ball and released his shot just as the clock ran out. Multiple replays were needed to show that he got his shot off before the shot clock expired.

Got his shot off before clock expired

Now this is despite home ground advantage for Miami, losing control of the ball, swarmed by Lebron James (who's in the All-Defensive First Team), shot clock below a second to expiry and Parker still managed to bank his shot in. Chapeau to Tony Parker.

Now, that is perseverance and persistence in the highest order. Something for me to remember and follow as I am recovering from my accident.

Something for you to think about after your injury or rehabilitation after surgery.If you work at it, you'll definitely get better. And we'll be helping you at Physio and Sports Solutions.

*Pictures from Nba.com

Now It'll be In July!

Our June Sports Massage Course has been postponed to July.

The reason is because one of our course organizers, Gino Ng, was involved in a cycling accident. He sustained skull and spinal fractures. He is on the mend and expected to be back at work in July.

Sports Solutions Sports Massage Course July 2013


July 13, 14, 20, 21 (2 weekends)
Saturdays (13, 20 July): 9am to 6pm
Sundays (14, 21 July): 10am to 5pm

It will be held at Sports Solutions, 108 Amoy Street

Early Bird (till 31 May 2013): $1200
After 31 May 2013: $1500

Register now by calling 62236078 or emailing admin@sportssolutions.com.sg

Lecturers:
Ms Aized Noor (Master Sports and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy (Uni South Australia), Senior Physiotherapist, Physio Solutions)
Ms Marlene Torrent Parker (National Cert in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork NCTMB (US), Massage and Bodywork Therapist)

This course aims to equip you with the basics of human anatomy and practical tecniques of sports massage.

How You Can Be 40 Years Old At 80

After reading my previous post, you probably think Ed Whitlock is a really great runner (and so do I), but please read on. I will show you a few more older (average age of 81) and yet fitter lifelong Nordic skiers published in the Applied Journal of Physiology last year.

In the study, this group of 9 skiers were compared to 6 remarkably healthy men of the same age but were not doing any exercises. In several key tests, including VO2 max and skeletal muscle health, the skiers scored more than 50% higher than the men who did not exercise.

The authors reported that the VO2 max recorded in this group of skiers is believed to be the highest recorded in humans above 80 years old and what's more; their results were comparable to non endurance trained men 40 years younger. This is definitely associated with lower risk for disability and mortality.

So after reading this far, you must be wondering how you can emulate them.

Well here's how they did it. On average, they've been training about 8 hours a week for the last 50 years. They exercised 4 to 6 days a week and never missed more than 6 months of continuous training at any one point. One of these skiers, who is 91 years old, won 2 gold medals at the winter Olympics. (Using his test results, this 91 year old would run a 4:10 hrs marathon -better than Ed).

Seems like a daunting task if you want to live longer and be healthier?

Well,  like I wrote last week, if you're not yet 81, keep exercising. If you're 81, keep going. 8 hours of exercise a week is definitely manageable, you just need to be consistent.

Email me if you want a copy of the article.

Reference

Trappe S, Haynes E et al (2012). New Records In Aerobic Power Among Octogenarian Lifelong Endurance athletes. J App Physiology. 114: 3-10.

*Picture by Anders Ljungberg from Flickr.com.

Running A 3:30 Marathon At 81

Well , after my recent bike accident and not being able to run or bike, and stuck at home, I was researching for articles on a group of octogenarians (or eighty something years old) super fit lifelong Nordic skiers since I can't work, I came across this link of Ed Whitlock.

Ed Whitlock is eighty-one years old (yes, you read correctly) and last October, ran the Toronto marathon in a supremely fast 3:30:26 hours, taking 16 minutes off the previous best time.

What was even more amazing was Ed ran 3:15:53 hours at the 2011 Toronto marathon, breaking his own 80 plus world record. The following month, he slipped on icy stairs outside his house and broke a rib. He ended up not being able to run for much of last year so maybe that explains why he "only" ran a 3:30 marathon.

Well , I guess the bottom line is if you're not yet 81, keep going. If you're 81, keep going. That gives me hope, so that when I get better, I will still be able to run.

So what about my article on the group of super fit eighty something year old Nordic skiers? Well, that will be my next post.

*Picture of Ed Whitlock from Runners World