Not Just a Man's World

I must confess that I hate running.

Years ago when I was at school I could do a half-decent 1,500m time.  However, this wasn’t through training.  It was just my natural ability for endurance.  When everyone else was starting to suffer from exhaustion I could carry on putting one foot in front of the other.

But I hate running.  I find it uncomfortable and unnecessary.  Sprinting is one thing, but running?  So imagine my joy when I stumbled across an article on Testosterone Nation that provided a simple scientific reason why most women are probably not designed to run.

I’ve collected here some key articles that will provide you with more in-depth reading on the question of whether women should run.

1. The Testosterone Nation article that started the whole debate off for me is part of a larger article by Tony Gentilcore.  It explains about the Q angle, and explains why this is a key reason why you need some basic strength and fitness before you start running.  It doesn’t say that running shouldn’t be done at all, only that you need to be fit to run and you should use a different form of exercise to start off on the path of losing weight and gaining fitness.
2. The Cybex Institute have also published a paper entitled ‘Should women run?’ that is largely disputing the Q-angle as being a reason why women shouldn’t run.  The paper disputes reasons given on a “popular internet sports conditioning forum” why women shouldn’t run and concludes that if a woman is running without incidence, she should not be stopped from running.
3. The Athlete’s Advisor published a response to a Mike Boyle article entitled “Why women shouldn’t run”.  Written by a running coach it has some insightful and helpful comments on what a lot of people do wrong (in particular focussed around their footwear, how the foot lands and stride pace).
4. To balance out the debate a little more, here are ‘10 reasons why women should run’.  The article is amusing and I’m not going to waste time working down the whole list, disputing or giving alternatives for them all, but here’s a sample:
   • going for a walk can reduce stress just as easily as running;
   • walking is also cheaper than running (if you are going to insist on buying expensive running shoes);
   • try doing some intervals for cardiovascular fitness and then tell me if running is the most efficient path to cardiovascular fitness (intervals take a lot less time too);
   • high intensity intervals are better than sustained low intensity cardio for weight reduction;
   • diet also reduces menstrual cramps (and it will probably help with weight reduction too); and finally
   • cycling is an equally good social activity and is much lower impact on the body.

The conclusion seems to be that women can run without injury, but there are some important things to consider including:

• running is an advanced form of exercise and you need a basic fitness first, so if you are new to the “trying to et fit” game, don’t start by going for a run every other day;
• footwear – the closer your footwear is to bare feet the better it should be for you;
• learn the right technique for foot fall – you shouldn’t be landing on the heel; and
• stride frequency should probably be faster than you think – you should be aiming for 180+ strides per minute to emulate the elite (and uninjured) runners.

Personally, I think I’ll just carry on using other forms of exercise.

Related posts:

1. Blog-watch: should women train like men?
2. Blog-watch: interviews with strong women
3. Pod-watch: Super Human Radio for women!
4. Blog-watch: pregnancy and workouts