they arent i have seen the girls on my xc team wuss out of more work outs than th guys granted we have a great guys team 4th man is a 4:35/1:58 but the girls #1,#2 girl was is a 2:13 800 runner. im in hs. and all my team talked about is how at the end of races girls never look as tired as the guys they are not as tough if there toughness was 9 times better wouldnt they be able to take one hell of a punch?