Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Exercise Physiology, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA.
Clinical Exercise and Respiratory Physiology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Faculty of Education, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2024 Aug 1;49(8):1129-1136. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2024-0051. Epub 2024 Apr 29.
There is a prominent sex-based difference in athletic performance such that males outperform females by 7%-14% in races from 100 m to marathon. In ultramarathons, the difference is often much smaller, leading to speculation that females are "built" for the sport. However, data are confounded by the low number of female participants; just 10%-30% in any given race. This study compared data from two ultramarathons where males and females competed in comparable numbers. There were 116 and 146 starters in the 50 mile and 100 mile races, respectively (52% female). Finish times were compared using tests or Mann-Whitney U tests, a Chi-squared test of independence examined the relationship between sex and ranking, and multivariable linear regressions examined relationships between sex, age, and finish time. There were 96 finishers in the 50 mile race (46% female) and 91 finishers in the 100 mile race (45% female). The median finish time for 50 miles was 12.64 ± 2.11 h with no difference between sexes (1.2%, = 0.441). However, the top-10 males finished the race ∼85 min faster than the top-10 females (13.8%, = 0.045). The mean finish time for 100 miles was 31.58 ± 3.36 h with no difference between sexes (3.2%, = 0.132) and no difference between the top-10 males and top-10 females (4.4%, = 0.150). Linear and multivariable regression models using sex and age were unable to predict overall finish time in either race. In conclusion, the sex-based performance discrepancy shrinks to 1%-3% in ultramarathons when males and females compete in comparable numbers. Top-performing males still retain a considerable advantage over shorter distances.
在竞技表现方面，存在显著的性别差异，男性在 100 米到马拉松等比赛中比女性快 7%-14%。在超长距离跑比赛中，这种差异通常要小得多，这导致人们猜测女性更适合这项运动。然而，由于参赛女性人数较少，数据存在混淆；在任何给定的比赛中，只有 10%-30%的女性参赛。本研究比较了两项超长距离跑比赛的数据，其中男性和女性的参赛人数相当。50 英里和 100 英里比赛的参赛人数分别为 116 人和 146 人（52%为女性）。使用 检验或曼-惠特尼 U 检验比较完赛时间，卡方检验独立性检验性别与排名的关系，多元线性回归检验性别、年龄和完赛时间之间的关系。50 英里比赛有 96 名完赛者（46%为女性），100 英里比赛有 91 名完赛者（45%为女性）。50 英里比赛的中位数完赛时间为 12.64±2.11 小时，男女之间没有差异（1.2%， = 0.441）。然而，前 10 名男性比前 10 名女性快约 85 分钟（13.8%， = 0.045）。100 英里比赛的平均完赛时间为 31.58±3.36 小时，男女之间没有差异（3.2%， = 0.132），前 10 名男性和前 10 名女性之间也没有差异（4.4%， = 0.150）。在这两项比赛中，使用性别和年龄的线性和多元回归模型均无法预测整体完赛时间。总之，当男性和女性的参赛人数相当时，超长距离跑比赛中的性别表现差异缩小至 1%-3%。表现最好的男性在较短距离上仍保持相当大的优势。
