Are Elite Men or Women Better at Pacing a Marathon? – Runner’s World

• A new study published in the European Journal of Sport Science analyzes the marathon world record results from 1998 to 2018 to determine whether men and women used different pacing strategies when breaking world records.
• The research found that men were more likely to speed up at the end of marathons, whereas women ran a similar average pace for the first and second halves of their races.

At the Berlin Marathon last September, Eliud Kipchoge clocked 1:01:06 for his first 13.1 miles, holding a blistering pace of around 4:38 per mile. The Kenyan runner then sped up, splitting 1:00:33 for the second half of the race, which put him at a world record finish time of 2:01:39. Similarly, when British runner Paula Radcliffe ran her still-standing women’s world record (2:15:25) at the 2003 London Marathon, she negative split by nearly 40 seconds, running her first half in 1:08:02 and her second half in 1:07:23.

Judging from these records alone, it seems that the best marathoners finish their races faster than they start. But according to a new data analysis of women’s and men’s marathon world records, elite men are much more likely to speed up at the end of a marathon than women.

The research, which was published in the European Journal of Sport Science this month, analyzed the pacing strategies of male and female marathoners who set world records between 1998 and today, to determine whether there were differences in how the respective genders raced.

Using data from the records set over the last two decades, the study compared the male and female record holders’ splits from nine sections of the marathon (the first eight 5Ks, plus the remaining 2K). The female marathoners were divided into two subgroups: women’s records achieved with male pacemakers (those ran between 1998 and 2003) and those achieved without male pacemakers (ran between 2003 and present day).

The research found that men tended to finish faster when setting marathon world records, while women ran the same average speed in the first and second half of their races. Study author José Joaquín Díaz, Ph.D., told Runner’s World that he was surprised by the pattern of pacing strategies for men.

“Previous research with recreational athletes reported that men are usually more aggressive right from the start—with a subsequent speed reduction at the end of the marathon—and we found that this is not the case for world record holders,” he said.

Interestingly, even though the women’s speeds were more consistent over the course of the race, their section splits were much more uneven relative to their male counterparts’. One explanation for the uneven pacing in women’s races—and subsequently faster finishes in men’s races—might be the availability of professional pacemakers for elite men, Díaz explained.

“World records are getting harder to break, and world record aspirants have to use optimized pacing strategies in order to have a chance,” Díaz said. “Professionalism has also brought better, well-paid pacemakers that ensure that pacing is close to optimal. According to different studies, a negative split in the second half is quite close to optimal—better than the other way around, for sure.”

In 2011, the IAAF ruled that women’s marathon records would only be eligible if they were run in women’s-only races, meaning female runners competed without the help of male pacemakers. While the federation still recognizes Radcliffe’s 2003 time as the “mixed gender” record, Mary Keitany’s 2:17:01 finish at the 2017 London Marathon is the official women’s-only world record.

“When just women’s-only races became eligible for world records, women lost the best pacemakers: men who were able to pace women right from the start to the finish line,” Díaz said. “Nowadays, women have to use female pacemakers, which have been proven to be less optimal.”

In major marathons today, Díaz explained, race organizers pay top dollar for experienced male pacemakers, but they generally don’t pour as many resources into recruiting female pacemakers. One reason for this may just be a lack of runners to pull from. Women who could be excellent pacemakers might choose to race—rather than pace—a marathon, especially if the paycheck for a podium spot is far greater than the fee for pacing, Díaz said.

[Smash your goals with a Runner’s World Training Plan, designed for any speed and any distance.]

Ultimately, the study didn’t find clear evidence that men are any better at pacing marathons than women—just that they are more likely to negative split, possibly because of pacing resources more readily at their disposal. Plus, according to Diaz, due to the small sample size of the study, it’s hard to make assumptions about how the different genders approach racing.

One obvious finding, however, was that men have better access to professional pacemakers than women do—which has likely had a huge impact on men’s records as well as women’s records set in mixed gender races.

“We cannot compare ‘women only’ records and ‘mixed races’ records directly, because the influence of male pacemakers is way too big to be ignored,” Díaz said.

Digital Editor Hailey first got hooked on running news as an intern with Running Times, and now she reports on elite runners and cyclists, feel-good stories, and training pieces for Runner’s World and Bicycling magazines.