November 3, 2015

On really long hikes — the Appalachian Trail and beyond — women may do better than men at setting speed records.

At some point, the female body has an advantage:
Robert Deaner of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., has spent the past 10 years studying the psychological differences in distance running between the sexes...  Men “begin at a pace that could lead to a superb performance, given their own talent and training, but one that also increases their chance of crashing or hitting the wall. The longer the race, the more crucial it is to be conservative with pacing, since fatigue in longer races reflects slowly cumulating processes, such as glycogen depletion and tissue damage.” Although data on longer distances is lacking, Deaner acknowledges, “since males generally have trouble making conservative decisions, they might be less likely to perform well in an ultrarun or hike.”...

“Women appear to be better suited for walking long distances because it doesn’t seem to take the same physical toll on their bodies,” [said record-setting hiker Heather Anderson]. “The women I see at the end of a long-distance hike look fit and badass, but the guys look emaciated.... I believe that endurance is most likely genderless... As a species we evolved by traveling long distances and carrying what we needed. It’s a human trait.”

Samuel Cheuvront, a research physiologist for the United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, agreed. “I can’t think of any reason why men would have an advantage over women at these lengths,” he said. “At distances over 2,000 miles, you are negating the benefit that males have due to increased muscle mass and aerobic capacity.”...

57 comments:

JackWayne said...

Another "scientific" study full of crap.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

“At distances over 2,000 miles, you are negating the benefit that males have due to increased muscle mass and aerobic capacity.”

LOL.

OK, I'll concede any race over 2,000 miles.

MadisonMan said...

I'd like the see the results normalized with respect to weight and height. If a 5' 6" women who weighs 130 pounds is traveling the same distance as a 5' 9" man who weighs 150 pounds, that's a huge difference in energy that must be consumed and expended.

Speeding through a hike in the wilderness: What's the point? :)

TreeJoe said...

They seem to be confounding two statements within this news article, possibly due to bad reporting:

1. Women are better than men at super long distance events/journeys due to...?

2. The advantages men have at endurance events no longer appear to exist when the distances go over X (they don't define it except to say 2,000 miles).

Those are not the same thing and I think it's trying to be reported towards #1.

Laslo Spatula said...

I've noticed that, after pounding a woman in the ass for three hours, her thighs look slightly smaller.

I' have also noticed that, after a woman sucks my cock for fifty minutes, her lips look slightly more plump.

Keep Going, Strong Women!


I am Laslo.

Expat(ish) said...

I remember reading stuff like this in the 80's about women and marathoning. Not so much.

-XC

Laslo Spatula said...

I don't like having sex with marathon runners.

Their vaginas become beef jerky with a tiny raw beef jerky hole.

And their ass is flat.

Pancake flat.

Give me a 10K runner please.

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula said...

Women's vaginas were not meant for their adjoining thighs to be chaffing back and forth for twenty-six miles.

Women: keep up the Yoga Thing.

Especially the really bendy parts.


I am Laslo.

Michael K said...

More body fat.

sean said...

As the Spartans would say: "Might" and "appear."

walter said...

Men are stronger..women more relentless.

holdfast said...

Are they normalizing for the loads carried on these hikes? Especially for couples, I can see the man packing a far higher percentage of his body weight than the female.

Anyway, who cares? This has absolutely no military application.

Quaestor said...

60 pounds, 27 kilos, the mass a soldier must carry has remained constant through the ages. The Greek hoplite, the legionaries of Rome, the armored knight, the British Tommy, the German landser, the Doughboy, and the G.I. all carried the same mass into battle. Lets be really scientific and test the hypothesis with a combat load instead of publishing speculation in the popular press -- and no fair fudging the load just to "even the playing field." War is not a game, nor is it a sport for amateurs.

BTW, scientists who bypass peer review and seed controversy by gilding shear conjecture with academic prestige are harming science, not advancing it.

jr565 said...

ill take The Proclaimers over any scientific study. Well I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more. Just to be the man who'd walk 1000 miles to fall down at your door. I know for a fact that it would be the guy walking the 1000 miles for the girl 100 times more than it would be the girl that walked 1000 miles for the guy.

Wince said...

"On really long hikes — the Appalachian Trial and beyond — women may do better than men at setting speed records."

The results are attributable to truckers being more likely to stop and give women a ride at least part of the way.

Fritz said...

Hell, then let the girls fight the next ten wars.

jr565 said...

Also how is the scientists getting data considering the article states the following:
"Records on long-distance trails are akin to cougar sightings on the East Coast: rare, controversial and hard to verify. Although these endurance records, recently titled Fastest Known Times, or F.K.T.s, have been recorded on paths like the Appalachian Trail since the 1970s, there is no governing body to officiate or authenticate them."
And yet he feels suited to make sweeping statements about men and women based on extremely rare statistics that aren't even really authenticated?

Also, it's kind of useless to come up with times for races where people walk 2000 miles. Since that is a trek that would take 50 days (40 miles a day walking) how much is also done in the day that contributes to that time? If someone for example sleeps more while the other person walks more they have 50 days to add a few hours to their times.
If you can walk 2000 miles how quickly you did it is largely immaterial

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

I have seen a lot of cougars on the East Coast. Just sayin'.

William said...

I would think that only men--and only a very small subset of men--would want to set a record for hiking the Appalachian Trail. I suppose you can find a couple of women somewhere who are into competitive Appalachian Trail events, but there can't be very many. The endorsement money for the winner is not huge. This is one of those sports like curling which will not become professional and corrupted by money.

William said...

My masculinity would not be threatened by a woman who could walk faster, longer than I could. I have encouraged as many women as men to go take a hike.

BarrySanders20 said...

I hate them Appalachian trials. West Virginia juries are tough.

walter said...

"scientists who bypass peer review and seed controversy by gilding shear conjecture with academic prestige are harming science, not advancing it."
Yeah..but it appears to pay the bills.

Carnifex said...

I always appreciate a woman who walks faster than I do. Gives me something to look at...
Ps. the logic of this guy is astoundingly obtuse. how is a males greater capacity for air exchange nullified by long distances? If anything, the male would have better aerobic exchange because of the greater amount of air moved.

PPS. Love those 2,000 mile races. I'm planning on doing one. Gonna take a decade off at work.

This idiot should go back to explaining why the ice getting thicker at the south pole PROVES global warming.

chickelit said...

This is utter BS. Everybody knows that men = women in all aspects. Those who cite physiological differences haven't turned onto synthetic hormones and gender reassignment.

Lyle said...

"look badass", is that a scientific term?

Achilles said...

Our tax dollars at work.

I assume that "On really long hikes — the Appalachian Trail and beyond — women may do better than men at setting speed records." is his thesis for ... something? Psychology of running very far? Studying for 10 years? Talking to people who actually do it... I just wasted 5 minutes reading that stupid article.

chickelit said...

Achilles said...Our tax dollars at work.

I assume that "On really long hikes — the Appalachian Trail and beyond — women may do better than men at setting speed records." is his thesis for ... something? Psychology of running very far? Studying for 10 years? Talking to people who actually do it... I just wasted 5 minutes reading that stupid article.


I presume that his thesis was predicated on the assumption that taking out ISIS might come after a long distance endurance test and thus women are physically best suited for such combat missions.

Zach said...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarathon#World_or_national-record_holding_or_world-championship-winning_ultramarathon_runners

Ultramarathon records favor men in every event I checked.

BN said...

"Our tax dollars at work..."

Ever since Jackson, the objective is to get the money spent on--the "spoils" redistributed to--your side. So, yeah, mission accomplished.

Anonymous said...

"May"? "Appear"? What is this pathetic crap? Do they have some actual data, or are they just talking out their asses?

tim maguire said...

Although data on longer distances is lacking, Deaner acknowledges, “since males generally have trouble making conservative decisions, they might be less likely to perform well in an ultrarun or hike.”...

"We don't have any evidence, but, what the heck? Let's say women are better." Sounds awfully sciency to me.

Expat(ish), I remember that too, it was supposed to be only a matter of time before women distance runners eclipse the men. Still waiting.

tim maguire said...

Having now gone to the article, I have to mention this: the photo illustrating the article shows four hikers on the Appalachian trail, three men and one woman. The woman is in last place.

Nice optics.

Kevin Brancato said...

There appears to be good data from an annual 3,100 mile race in Jamaica, Queens:

The best men run 3,100 miles days or more ahead of the best women.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Transcendence_3100_Mile_Race

Looking at the results of that same race, year after year, we see far more men compete and complete the race than women. The top woman is in the middle or bottom of the pack that does complete the race.

http://3100.srichinmoyraces.org/

Christopher said...

The author really did just throw subtlety to the wind when trying to get those she interviewed to say women were better than men, didn't she?

Christopher said...

Oddly enough just the other day I was reading up on the differences between the sexes when it comes to running and I was actually quite shocked at the difference in times between men and women. I mean I always knew the men had better times, but I was unaware of just how large the difference was.

Just using the mile as an example (which I know is not what the article was discussing) the men's world record was 3:43 while the women's was 4:12. That is a massive amount of time for a mile run.

Curious George said...

“At distances over 2,000 miles..."

The only advantage women have is that they'll stop and ask directions.

Fritz said...

tim maguire said...
Having now gone to the article, I have to mention this: the photo illustrating the article shows four hikers on the Appalachian trail, three men and one woman. The woman is in last place.

Nice optics.


That's because she stopped to make the sandwiches.

walter said...

Carnifex said...
I always appreciate a woman who walks faster than I do. Gives me something to look at...

Andrea Dworkin on an escalator?

Doc gives candid talk on women's issues in military

walter said...

Will be interesting when the full report is released:
Report finds female Marines cannot meet some standards for special operations forces

walter said...

The Problems of Women in Combat – From a Female Combat Vet

"All the branches still have different standards for females and males. Why? Because most women wouldn’t even qualify to be in the military if they didn’t have separate standards."

tds said...

While women were discussing among themselves their superior relative performance, men invented bikes, cars, choppers, and planes.

Curious George said...

"walter said...
The Problems of Women in Combat – From a Female Combat Vet

"All the branches still have different standards for females and males. Why? Because most women wouldn’t even qualify to be in the military if they didn’t have separate standards."

The women with penises are the exceptions likely.

Big Mike said...

The Appalachian Trail was not built for people to race. If you're trying to set a speed record on the Appalachia Trail, then you don't get what hiking the Appalachian Trail is all about.

walter said...

That last link has 3 parts..well worth the read.

Rick said...

Deaner acknowledges, “since males generally have trouble making conservative decisions, they might be less likely to perform well in an ultrarun or hike.”...

Any difference between men and women is acceptable as long as it is interpreted as detrimental to men or advantageous to women.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Women do better at the ultra-long distance swimming. Maybe higher level body fat keeps them warmer and the added flotation requires less energy?

kjbe said...

"Speeding through a hike in the wilderness: What's the point? :)"

If it's the Appalachian Trail -it's far from a 'wilderness'. Maybe that's why.

Drago said...

Caitlyn Jenner has already "proven" that "women" can compete and defeat men in the Olympic Decathlon.

So there, H8ters.

Freeman Hunt said...

Perhaps at these long distances, women have an advantage because they have higher body fat. They're eating up all that fat while they walk. The men are eating through their muscle.

Freeman Hunt said...

Oh, this is without data? Why would anyone think that this would be true without data?

Fred Drinkwater said...

mrs.e: I was once passed by a speed-hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail near Mammoth. Head down, trucking along at 10 knots through a beautiful morning in an area noted for it's small, gem-quality wilderness spots. To each his own, I thought.
This is a common occurrence on the PCT and JMT (which my college roommate referred to as a "four-lane superhighway").
Fortunately, if one steps a few yards off the main drag, one can go an entire July 4th 3-day weekend without seeing anyone you didn't deliberately bring with you.

jg said...

I've heard the same about ultra-marathoners. Some of the most accomplished (in the '10 people in the world are willing to work on this adaptation' sense) are women.

I'd bet on the same-height same-training man at any distance. Hips and muscle and knee durability (which is possibly just muscle). If you're ultra-marathon/hiking you're wasting muscle, and the more you start with the more durable you'll be.

JAORE said...

I fear those thousands of women, 2k mile, speed hikers, will self-identify as male and ruin, just ruin, the noble sport.

Fernandinande said...

jr565 said...
And yet he feels suited to make sweeping statements about men and women based on extremely rare statistics that aren't even really authenticated?


Men hold all the verified endurance running records, with distances up to 1,000 miles.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Women are better at giving birth and taking punches to the groin.

rsbsail said...

But would a woman walk a mile for a Camel?

Nichevo said...

"May" seems to imply uncertainty, an unknown. Since there are 1000, 2000, 3000 miles races, and since they are dominated by men, where is the "may?" They may, but they don't!

Ann, you want funny, you want laughs, this is it.