More women than men run marathons

Washington, Oct. 5: The percentage of marathon runners made up by women has risen dramatically, going from 20 per cent in 1986 to a little over 50 per cent in 2018, making it the first year more women than men ran marathons.

At the same time, marathon runners have never been older.

The average age of runners around the world has been steadily rising, from 35.2 in 1986 to 39.2 in 2018

The average age of marathon runners has risen from 38 in 1986 to 40 in 2018, according to the study, a collaboration between Danish research firm Run Repeat and the International Association of Athletics Federation.

The average age of general runners has also steadily increased even more, going from 35.2 in 1986 to 39.3 in 2018.

The average woman runner is 36, while the average male runner is 40.

These demographic shifts have posed some challenges to marathon organisers.

Runners of all distances have gotten steadily older over the years, and marathon runners are the oldest, with an average age of 40

“Twenty years ago, you ran a marathon,” Virginia Brophy Achman, one of the organisers of the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis-St.Paul, said.

The Twin Cities Marathon in MinneapolisSt. Paul has seen the number of marathon runners decline, as people have developed interests in other fitness activities, including CrossFit, yoga, and biking

The Twin Cities Marathon as seen enrollment in its shorter distance races increase at the same time as full marathon participants has declined.

Today, marathon runners appear less interested in optimising their times than they are the experience. The US has the second highest percentage of women runners at 58 per cent, followed by Canada, Ireland, and Australia.