We've established the historical reasons for women running shorter distances and at the highest level, the Olympics, have rejected them with men and women racing the same distances so to ask a specific question:
Why do US colleges run shorter XC races for women? Are the colleges hidebound by tradition?
Tom
I don't think tradition is the answer here. I think it's more related to accessibility. They made our highschool dual meets 4K instead of 5K for the same reason, they wanted the men to get introduced at shorter distances so that they're more likely to try it. I personally think women have trouble handling higher mileage totals, and the shorter events are a little bit easier to train for.
Duh. Because their ovaries will fall out.
Jock Semple could explain this odd anatomical phenomenon, if only he were still with us.
wrong - uneducated - unaware who sit in the chairs of influence ... of the sport and its history - are making the decisions - based on archaic thinking that permeated the 50s - 60s when it came to introducing women into the sport. That, and no one make any attempt to think ahead much.
f*** women wrote:
Never seen the point in women's running. If you're so equal, you can run in the men's races and go as far as you can.
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We actually are starting to see signs of that.
High Schools traditionally have xc boys run 5k and xc girls run 4k. Since 2008, some schools are making it one 5k course for everyone.
This will only begin to grow. It makes sense in many ways and cuts costs and moving around start lines etc.
whonamestheirkidgerman? wrote:
Where did this start and is there any reason to continue?
Ya gotta think!! Women are shorter than men therefore they take more strides per mile. When they run a shorter distance they are actually taking the same amount of steps as the men. Conclusion the same no. of steps means that the strain on their bodies is exactly the same. Case Closed!!
Did you know the only difference between girls and boys are that boys have more STRENGTH girls have more FLEXIBILITY, so that means girls and boys have the same ENDURANCE, so keep your idiotic "Facts" to yourself.
The Waterboy wrote:
eojtlc wrote:It never made any sense to me. I understand that it must come from old ideas about female fragility, but why is cross country the last to figure it out, NCAA and IAAF need to get it together and realize that women are perfectly capable of running the same distance as men for a race.
I have also noticed that most women do not train at the same intensity as men who run at the same level of competition. Whether it's high school, college, or pro. Few women run 100+ miles a week where it's a standard for elite men, in high school most women I knew ran half the mileage of the men. However when women do train at the same intensity as is standard for men, they tend to dominate the women who don't and just get by on talent. To me this proves that women can handle the training, just fewer of them want to do it.
The one difference I get is the height of the steeple barriers or hurdles, women are shorter, that makes sense. Also, do women run 100 meter hurdles and men 110, that just seems silly. Does it have something to do with stride length and steps between hurdles?
Lets talk about steeple/hurdles for a second. Should the hurdles be the same height as the guys but for a shorter distance? Like have guys run the steeple with 36' hurdles and girls run 2000m steeple with 36' hurdles, or have guys run 400m hurdles with 36' hurdles and girls run 300m or 200m with 36' hurdles?
Which do you prefer, for both track and Cross?
36' hurdles?! I'd pay quite a bit of money to see that race!
This topic was covered by Running Times earlier this year.
http://www.runnersworld.com/races/men-vs-women-race-distance-an-equal-running-field
Link wrote:
36' hurdles?! I'd pay quite a bit of money to see that race!
Yeah, having to climb 36ft over each hurdle would certainly be a crowd-pleaser--though the real excitement would probably be on the far side of the hurdle, when you'd have to make a strategic decision: climb down most of the way, or gain some time on your competition (but risk injury) by just dropping the last 10-15ft.
And in the steeplechase, the water jump would be freakin' spectacular.
In Ontario Canada this practice starts in grade 6.
Kids in grades 3-5 run the same distance.
So from an early age girls are made to feel inferior
Men make the rules,it's that simple.
Has no one here coached both boys and girls or men and women?
They're different.
If your goal is keep your kids healthy as well as get faster, you'd be cruel to train them both the same.
Minutes? Maybe. Miles? No way.
They should run the same so it will be easier to make the course. The RD just maps out 1 XC course and that's it.