b***i
发帖数: 10018 | 1 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703673604575550133914934718.html
It's Time for Women to Run Faster
Boston's Crowded Marathon Prompts a Gender War; Why Females Get an Extra 30
Minutes
By KEVIN HELLIKER And DAVID BIDERMAN
If you're interested in running next year's Boston Marathon, you'd better
get set.
Race officials say the marathon's 21,000 prized slots, which used to take
six months to distribute, could be filled in a matter of days after
registration opens on Monday. In fact, every spot could be taken before the
ING New York City Marathon—the nation's largest—takes place on Nov. 7. If
that happens, New York's race would effectively be eliminated for the first
time as a qualifier for next year's Boston.
The record demand for Boston slots has much to do with the exploding
popularity of marathons in the U.S.: The 10% growth in participation last
year was the largest spurt in 25 years. The number of runners who qualify
for Boston now far exceeds the available places (excluding about 5,000 spots
reserved for charity runners).
But there's another possible reason for the surging demand—one that has the
potential to kick up a fair amount of controversy. It's the notion that the
qualifying standards for women are too soft.
By all accounts, the running boom is being fueled by women more than men.
Women made up 42% of finishers in the 2010 Boston race—a proportion that is
higher than the percentage of all U.S. marathoners who are women. But
according to gender rules instituted in 1977, the marathon times women need
to post to qualify for Boston are 30 minutes slower than the times the men
in the same age group have to run. The problem: There's no evidence that
women really need that much extra time.
The typical gap in major 2009 marathons between the world's elite male and
female runners was closer to 20 minutes than 30—and has been shrinking over
time. For less-than-elite runners, these gaps have created some
questionable benchmarks. To qualify for Boston, for instance, a man aged 50
to 54 has to have posted a time of 3:35 or better. But that time is five
minutes faster than the time required for women 34 and younger. In a
nutshell, to make Boston, a 54-year old man has to run faster than the
nation's youngest and fastest women.
Compare the Boston, New York and Chicago marathons. See elevation profiles,
last year's fastest times, recent race-day temperatures and other details.
Some running experts say that one way to reduce excess demand for Boston
slots would be to stop treating women like the gentler sex. When the 30-
minute qualifying gap was implemented in 1977, "the mentality was, 'frailty,
thy name is woman,' " said Tom Derderian, a Boston-area running coach and
author of a history on the Boston Marathon. "People don't realize many women
today run faster than the men who won the Boston Marathon in the past."
"The women's times should probably be tougher," said Maria Simone, a 36-year
-old New Jersey professor who has qualified for Boston. Last November, Ms.
Simone and her husband, John Jenkins, who is also 36, ran the Philadelphia
Marathon in pursuit of a Boston qualifying time. He finished in 3:25, 13
minutes ahead of her. But she qualified for Boston with seven minutes to
spare while he remains 10 minutes short of the 3:15 that he needed to
qualify. "The strange thing is, I used to be faster than him," Ms. Simone
said.
Guy Morse, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, which
oversees the marathon, called grading for gender "an inexact science." He
said no tightening of standards is imminent for either men or women. Mr.
Morse added that the marathon's legendary course is too narrow to
accommodate any expansion of the field. "Exclusivity is part of the allure,"
he said.
The 30-minute head start for women was enacted only five years after the
event began allowing women to register and fully seven years before the
Olympic Games introduced a women's marathon.
Narrowing the gender gap would align Boston more nearly with its counterpart
in the world of ultramarathon racing, the Western States 100—a 100-mile
race whose slots are highly coveted by men and women alike. Qualifying
requirements for the Western States have always been identical for men and
women, says a historian of that race, Antonio Rossmann.
A veteran himself of the Boston Marathon, Mr. Rossmann said the women's
qualifying times for Boston "are much softer than empiricism should suggest.
" Mr. Rossmann said he believes Boston officials have kept the wide gap as a
way of compensating for all the earlier years of "keeping women out of the
race."
With physiological advantages such as larger hearts and greater lung
capacity, men will probably always run faster than women. But elite women
aren't that far behind. The women's world marathon record 40 years ago stood
about 54 minutes behind the male record; today it's only about 11 minutes
slower.
More on Fitness
The female winner at last Sunday's Chicago Marathon crossed the finish line
about 14 minutes after the male winner. At the nation's five largest
marathons—all certified as Boston Marathon qualifying races—the gender
differential among top runners in 2009 stood closer to 20 minutes than 30.
Running USA, a research center based in Colorado, has collected raw data
from nearly 500 marathons across the country that show a median gender
difference of about 28 minutes in finishing times. But similar data also
show that while men tend to finish in a long line from fastest to slowest,
women divide into two distinct groups—one that's fast and another that's
considerably slower.
Running experts say the second grouping, which tends to move as a pack,
drags down the median finishing times for all women. "Women are social and
tend to tackle new goals with a close friend or group of girlfriends more
often than men," says a report on the Running USA website.
If Boston raised its qualifying standards, it's possible that more women
would fail to qualify. But many others would likely pick up the pace. At a
marathon in Oregon in May, Julie Fingar of Sacramento, Calif., a pro runner
who works as a pacesetter, led several hundred runners, mostly women, at a
pace designed to finish just under 3:40, the Boston qualifying time for
women 34 and under. "If they tightened the standards, I think most of those
women would just run faster," she said.
In any event, runners who've already qualified and who hope to register for
next spring's Boston marathon won't be taking any chances on Monday.
"Everybody's worried that it might fill up the first day," said Boston
veteran Jennifer Lashua of San Francisco. | y******n
发帖数: 4527 | 2 wah, have not been aware that the BM will start the registration next Monday
. Hope it will not be filled up in three weeks and more importantly, I need
to run well.
30
the
【在 b***i 的大作中提到】
: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703673604575550133914934718.html
: It's Time for Women to Run Faster
: Boston's Crowded Marathon Prompts a Gender War; Why Females Get an Extra 30
: Minutes
: By KEVIN HELLIKER And DAVID BIDERMAN
: If you're interested in running next year's Boston Marathon, you'd better
: get set.
: Race officials say the marathon's 21,000 prized slots, which used to take
: six months to distribute, could be filled in a matter of days after
: registration opens on Monday. In fact, every spot could be taken before the
| f*******n
发帖数: 5241 | 3 看这意思，我是不要指望BQ了。：（本来还指望再熬几年，再跑
快点，也许还有那么一线希望。
昨天和一个朋友打电话，他让我过去玩，他家离BM起点才5分钟。 | d****i
发帖数: 4354 | 4 暂时不会大变化吧，要不组委会要被群雌粥粥的骂死．．．
【在 f*******n 的大作中提到】
: 看这意思，我是不要指望BQ了。：（本来还指望再熬几年，再跑
: 快点，也许还有那么一线希望。
: 昨天和一个朋友打电话，他让我过去玩，他家离BM起点才5分钟。
| m****i
发帖数: 1980 | | w****1
发帖数: 4931 | 6 The BQ standard has changed many times in the past. At one point it was as
fast as 2:50 for men.
【在 d****i 的大作中提到】
: 暂时不会大变化吧，要不组委会要被群雌粥粥的骂死．．．
| m******g
发帖数: 516 | 7 I actually agree. Many years ago, I finished my first marathon 3:40, there
were plenty of young ladies racing pass me at the finish to BQ. Year after
year, BM women's slots fill up much quickly than men's.
I guess the reason behind it was to encourage women to participate. As our
society develops, now more women engage in the sports. |
|
