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. 2011 Dec 17;9(4):600-21.
doi: 10.1177/147470491100900410.

More men run relatively fast in U.S. road races, 1981-2006: a stable sex difference in non-elite runners

Robert O Deaner  1 , Don Mitchell
Affiliations

More men run relatively fast in U.S. road races, 1981-2006: a stable sex difference in non-elite runners

Robert O Deaner et al. Evol Psychol. .

Abstract

Recent studies indicate that more men than women run fast relative to sex- specific world records and that this sex difference has been historically stable in elite U.S. runners. These findings have been hypothesized to reflect an evolved male predisposition for enduring competitiveness in "show-off" domains. The current study tests this hypothesis in non-elite runners by analyzing 342 road races that occurred from 1981-2006, most in or near Buffalo, NY. Both absolutely and as a percentage of same-sex finishers, more men ran relatively fast in most races. During the 1980s, as female participation surged, the difference in the absolute number of relatively fast men and women decreased. However, this difference was stable for races that occurred after 1993. Since then, in any given race, about three to four times as many men as women ran relatively fast. The stable sex difference in relative performance shown here for non-elites constitutes new support for the hypothesis of an evolved male predisposition for enduring competitiveness.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Histogram showing the frequency of percent-percent sex difference in 322 road races
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The relations between year and percent-percent sex difference (left ordinate) and percentage of female finishers (right ordinate)
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The relation between year and the percent-absolute sex difference
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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