Opposite (above):
Alpine running
demands peak
fitness
Opposite (below):
Sophie Power on
a feeding break
Left: Lizzy
Hawker smashing
it in Chamonix
Below: If it
wasn’t posted on
Facebook, did it
even happen?Women’s Health JULY 2019 | 119
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and mental factors, and both have
been posited as reasons why women are
more likely to finish an ultramarathon.
If you’ve ever blamed your hormones
for making a tough cardio session
seem insurmountable, know that, in
ultrarunning, they could be key to your
success. ‘There are certain times in
your menstrual cycle when you’re
much more efficient at using fat for
fuel,’ says McGregor. She explains that
during the follicular stage (from day one
to 13), oestrogen rises and blood sugars
stabilise. ‘This results in consistent
energy release from carbohydrates,
which means you’re less likely to deplete
stores quickly.’ This lowers your risk of
hitting a wall. ‘Women also generally
have a higher percentage of slow-twitch
muscle fibres, which are more suited
to endurance.’ Men have more fast-
twitch muscle, which is better suited
to powerful bursts, but fatigue quicker.
Size matters, too. ‘Women tend to have
a smaller frame, so a smaller surface
area,’ adds McGregor. ‘This means
we’re more efficient at regulating heat,
which is crucial in ultrarunning.’
The speed at which your muscles
fatigue could also play a role. In a 2014
study, Guillaume Millet – former
ultra-endurance runner and associate
professor at the Université Jean
Monnet in Saint-Étienne – examined
male and female competitors before
and after running the Ultra Trail du
Mont Blanc. Specifically, he looked
at differences in central fatigue (the
kind that happens in the brain) and
peripheral fatigue (the kind that
happens in the muscles) in the knee
extensors and plantar flexors. He
found that women experienced less
peripheral fatigue in the plantar flexors
than men, meaning the women’s calves
and thighs held more power for longer.
‘This suggests women are more fatigue-
resistant than men,’ he says.
‘But another possibility is that
women are more conservative
and don’t push themselves to
the same limits in the same way.’
HARE STYLE
Taking it easy is a tactic that
has become crucial to Sophie’s
success. ‘In other years, I might
have been thinking, “I want to
run it in under 36 hours,” [she
finished in 43 hours 33 minutes]
and I wouldn’t have enjoyed
it as much,’ she says. But she
believes that taking a more
compassionate approach was
key. ‘My goal at the starting
line was to get my body around
the course as gently as possible,
taking all the time I could take
and being in a fit state when I
crossed that finish line to go and
be a mum to my two boys again.’
It means taking a realistic
approach to pacing. As any
runner knows, perfect pacing
means not setting off too fast.
Indeed, a study of more than 1.8
million marathon results from
across the world over five years
concluded that women are the
superior sex when it comes to
maintaining a consistent pace,
slowing down 18.6% less than
men during the second half of a
marathon. Jens Jakob Andersen,
the Danish author of the pacing
study (and a former competitive
runner), believes the skill of
pacing correctly over such long
distances comes down to
confidence. ‘Women tend to
have a better understanding
of their own limitations, rather
than being overly optimistic
about their performance and
so starting out too fast,’ he says.
An internal report by Hewlett-
Packard in 2014 highlighted the
difference in self-confidence
between the sexes, showing
that, on average, men applied
for a job at the tech company
when they met only 60% of the
qualifications, while women
had to meet 100% in order to
throw their hat into the ring.
Could the same be true when
it comes to signing up for an
ultramarathon? ‘I think there’s
an element of that,’ adds Jasmin.
‘When I ran the Dragon’s Back
L A D I E S F I R S T
While men have the competitive advantage in any event
up to 26 miles – likely due to the fact that they tend to be
more muscular, have less body fat and a larger heart and
lungs – research suggests a woman’s biological advantages
kick in when the going gets tougher. In a 2016 study,
scientists from the University of Zurich analysed data from
more than 32,000 finishers of races lasting from six hours to
10 days between 1975 and 2013. They found that while men
were indeed faster than women across all race durations,
the gender gap narrowed across races of six, 72, 144 and
(gulp) 240 hours. ‘Physiologically, women are not muscular
enough to be superior at running shorter distances,’ says
Renee McGregor, endurance runner, sports and eating
disorder specialist and dietitian. ‘But with ultrarunning,
the ability to endure becomes more important.’
Defined as the ability to withstand difficult circumstances,
an individual’s endurance is informed by both physical