WOMEN RUNNERS ARE CLOSING THE GAP ON MEN, AND IMPROVING TWICE AS FAST, STUDY FINDS
If you have ever been told the gap between men and women on the running track is fixed, a new study says think again, because women runners are catching up.
Research published on November 9 in the journal Scientific Reports has found that elite women have improved faster than men in every running event from the 60-metre sprint to the marathon over the past 25 years.
In longer races, they have been improving at roughly twice the pace.
What the women runners study found
The study was carried out by Tommaso Jucker from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.
He analysed official, ratified race results from World Athletics covering 11 running events between 2001 and 2025, leaving out 2020 when the pandemic disrupted competition.
For each year and event, he took the fastest times of the top 25 men and the top 25 women.
That added up to 13,094 performances by 3,611 elite athletes.
Across all events, the gap between men and women narrowed from 13.2 per cent in 2001 to 11.9 per cent in 2025, according to a summary of the research by News Medical.
The average gap across all events was 12.6 per cent, ranging from 9.2 per cent in the 60 metres to 14.2 per cent in the 10 kilometres.
Twice as fast over the long haul
The biggest gains came in middle and long-distance events, from the 800 metres upwards.
On average, men got faster by 2.2 seconds per kilometre over the study period, while women improved by 4.5 seconds per kilometre.
The difference was even more striking in the half marathon and marathon.
Women's times in those races fell by between 10.3 and 12.6 seconds per kilometre, compared with 6.0 to 6.2 seconds per kilometre for men.
The paper in Scientific Reports is titled "The gap between elite female and male runners continues to shrink in the 21st century".
It's not just the shoes
You might assume the new generation of high-tech racing shoes explains it all.
But the improvements were steady and broadly linear, with no clear plateaus, and they began before advanced footwear arrived on the scene.
So footwear alone does not explain the trend.
Instead, the research suggests that growing opportunities for women in competitive running may have played a part.
The findings challenge the long-held idea that the performance gap between the sexes had stopped shrinking.
It is worth noting the study is observational and only looked at elite athletes, so it cannot prove exactly what caused the change, and the author has called for more research into footwear, biomechanics and running economy.
What women runners at every level can take from this
You do not need to be chasing a world record to feel inspired by these numbers.
The big lesson is that performance is not set in stone, and that opportunity, support and belief can make a real difference.
If you have been thinking about lacing up, start gently with a mix of walking and jogging, and build up slowly over several weeks.
Joining a local running group or a free weekend community run can bring friendship, accountability and a lot more fun than going it alone.
Strength training a couple of times a week can help support your joints and muscles as you build your kilometres.
Invest in comfortable, well-fitted shoes and a supportive sports bra, both of which make a big difference to how a run feels.
In the warmer months, run early or late in the day, carry water and slip on a hat and sunscreen.
And if you are returning to exercise after a long break, pregnancy or injury, or you have a health condition, check in with your GP or a physiotherapist first.
The bottom line
Women's running has come a long way in a quarter of a century, and the finish line on this story has not been reached yet.
Whether you run for medals, mental health or a quiet half hour to yourself, every step is part of that bigger story.
