Why aren't there more good American women distance runners?

No women on letsrun?

Not during the ENTIRE 25 minutes that you waited between posts, at least!

This is a male "perspective", but, one factor is the demise of the monied road races. A lot of people complained about them, but in the 80's, a woman could go out and win $500-$5000 once or twice a month. Now, those races are few and far between.

for the same reasons there are no good male distance runners in the US. i'll let you determine what those reasons are, but the women are basically as successful as the men (more if you take out the men of east african/north african origin; ie khannouchi, meb, abdi, lagat).

I think the reasons are elsewhere.

Deena Kastor is a good case. Someone who was told to only do 60-65 mpw in college, then graduated, started cranking out as much as double that....

BOOM she's a stud.

I don't know of any D1 women who run more than 90 mpw.

(granted, I'm biased)

i think eating disorders play a big role in the lack of depth in women's post collegiate running. many of the good high school and collegiate standouts burn out due to constant dieting and pressure on themselves. also, i think women tend to have a harder time just focusing on running. most top level female athletes i know still have the need to work, go to school, or something else besides train. whereas many top level male athletes i know have no problem living off their girlfriends salary, eating pop tarts, and running all day. i think many of the females who go into distance running are type A, and need to be successful in other ways besides running.

another big thing is woman get pregnant. the prime age for training and racing is often cut short in women due to the desire to start a family and although there have been some to race at an elite level after starting a family, it is more challenging. just my two cents.

you nailed it, I agree, the pressure you put on yourself takes all the pleasure out of running, overthink it and then want nothing to do with running. I was a local standout got a eating disorder bombed my college full-ride and didn't run for 6 years, I started again and don't know how to lower my standards

female perspective wrote:

most top level female athletes i know still have the need to work, go to school, or something else besides train. whereas many top level male athletes i know have no problem living off their girlfriends salary, eating pop tarts, and running all day.

Everything you said is right on!!! To go along with this, injuries probably play a role. Constantly in a state of stress, getting injured, and then asking themselves, "Is it worth it?" Women are afraid if they commit to 'just running' and then get injured, that it's not worth it. Cutting out all the other crap and committing to 'just running' is a step few women are willing to take! Women are very hard on themselves.

The statement about fewer road races with prize money is also true! The thing is, you have to look a little harder to find the races with money. They're there! In addition, the few races with large prize purses tend to be swept up by international athletes. Was it this way 20-30 years ago? Women back then probably thought they had a fighting chance..... now, they don't. And maybe women used to be more of the 'stay-at-home-housewife' and had the time/energy to train. Now, more women are going to college, working in the workforce, etc.. In general, I don't think a lot of post-collegiate athletes know what opportunities exists beyond college. They don't know where to go next! The other trend is to take up other sports (cycling, duathlons, triathlons, mountain biking, etc.).

Money: used to be all right in the late 80's, early 90's. You could hit some local races, go out of town once a month and it was like a part time job. Running times used to list the purses on races in it's race schedules. you don't see that so much anymore. Surviving collegiate running is certainly something I didn't do well, and 10 years later , after the first kid, it all seemed much easier, but yeah, I was in the at home , underempolyed mom mode and training was my main job. it was a breeze.

and this one for Jag, STRESS

just got my first stress frac in 30 years. Avoided injuries during 80-100 mile weeks in my thirties but, pushing 50, with 3 part time jobs, a kid in college, one in 4th grade and 65 mile weeks and a hard race on concrete got me. Any insight on the fosamax type medications? I hate pool running.

Not just women, the men included.

In addition to what female perspective said - why are colleges searching high and low for female distance runners? Something else is going on (probably more cultural) Why don't more girls want to run in college and run on scholarship? these are just possible explantions:

1) may not have to pay for college - so don;t need the scholarship

2) girls are more social - want more out of college than just running all the time (running can be a solitary sport)

3) more career or family oriented: feel it's time to move on with their lives and start persuing different goals

4) certainly changes in body can make it harder to keep running at the level they once did - which is a huge factor of frustration for any runner (just find someone who has been recently injuried)

5) soceity judges males more by athletic success - so guys compete in sports where girls find other way to compete with each other (clothes, boyfriends, etc.)

any others?

Could it be male US distance runners that get in their pants?

I will summarize what jerrry just said. Women aren't as interested. That is a broad generalization. I did not say all women. But more men then women are interested in chasing the dream.

A comment from a male: I used to train with a woman who was about my equal timewise. My marathon best was 2:36, and hers was 2:37. Times at other distances were similar. I worked a 40 hour a week job, she was a housewife with no kids. In marathon prep, I ran 100+ miles a week. In marathon prep, she maybe hit 80 miles a week.

I always wanted her to put in more miles. Since she always had a coach, I never got involved. I somewhat think that male coaches have a condescending attitude toward women, thinking that they can't possibly be tough enough to put in all that training. So the coaches rarely try to push that envelope. Maybe the women don't want to, either, I don't know. But I always think that my friend could have gone much faster with higher mileage, and she possibly could have vied for an Olympic spot. She also may have gotten injured.

As a woman who was a successful high school runner, just ran for fitness in college - not on a team, and then picked it up again and became a bit more serious afterwards, I often wonder where the competition is. Where are all the fast post-collegiate runners that should be in my age group? Does anyone think the way college running programs are set up ends up burning women out?

I'm curious too. More than what? Other countries? Than men? Than there used to be? Than in 1979? Than there should be? I am wondering where I would begin to research? Can we try to define a/the problem?

Maybe there isn't one.

Tom

jerrry wrote:

Why don't more girls want to run in college and run on scholarship?

Actually, if I had the choice to do it all over again I would have gone for just academic scholarships and said the heck with collegiate running. It is literally brutal on the body!!!! I think the grind of collegiate running (at least D1) scares a lot of women away. However, this doesn't mean all programs are this way.

Derderian wrote:

I'm curious too. More than what? Other countries? Than men? Than there used to be? Than in 1979? Than there should be? I am wondering where I would begin to research? Can we try to define a/the problem?

Maybe there isn't one.

Tom

To answer your question, I did mean compared to women from other countries. Primarily the women in Russia, China, and Ethiopia- I do wonder about the possibility of illegal enhancements to their performances. A women looking at the international 5k and 10k records would be discouraged.

runamook wrote:

Any insight on the fosamax type medications? I hate pool running.

Yes, bisphosphonates improve bone mass by slowing down bone turnover/remodeling. However, they do not necessarily decrease the risk of stress fractures. If you DO get a fracture/stress fracture, you heal more slowly because of the slow bone turnover. In addition, because of the slow healing, this is especially a concern for areas of the body with a low blood supply (ex. hip, jaw)-- if you fracture, you could develop necrosis and have to have part of the bone removed. This is a HUGE concern at the moment with bisphosphonates!

We are currently doing research with intermittent, low doses of PTH which stimulates osteoblast formation and increases bone mass. I believe the market name for this is Forteo. I would talk to your doctor.... really, no drug or nutritional supplement can completely prevent stress fractures/fractures. There's much more to it, of which I believe stress is one facet.