Making women run shorter races patronising, says athlete

♦ Organisers of cross country races are facing a revolt after a former Great Britain medal winner said that women running shorter distances than men was “patronising”.

Jo Pavey, 44, a longdistance runner, said it made no sense, particularly when women already run marathons.

In competitive races in England, women often run much shorter distances than men. For example, at the SEAA Main Championships the men run 15kilometres while the women only run 8kilometres, according to an online petition to equalise distances.

“Women have obviously been running the marathon for many years now and it is very patronising to suggest that women aren’t as capable as men,” Pavey said.

Maud Hodson, who organised the petition, said: “Cross country is stuck in a bit of a time warp. There are many reasons we’re given, the main one seems to be tradition – that it’s the way it’s always been done.”