Is distance running a good sport to impress women ?

Every time I go on a date, I wear a custom printed t-shirt listing all my PRs, as well as my threshold pace and VO2 Max

Ultimately, you need to be interested in the same things as your potential partner or it won't workout. So you're most likely to attract a fellow runner or health conscious type.

It's all about having common ground that you can talk about in the majority of your time together which are not dedicated to intimacy...

You're assuming a skeleton physique. I'm a distance runner (do a few 13.1/26.2/70.3 annually), but I also work out, cycle, swim, etc. I don't look anything like a skinny distance runner. I'm fit, muscular, and have a lower BMI than everyone I work with and nearly everyone else I know. At my age (43), that is impressive to women.

Again, you're assuming a skinny elite runner. I'm not making those assumptions. I'm making the assumption that 'distance running' is a person's hobby, not their profession.

I worked in endurance training and running retail for 15 years. Outside of triathlon groups or elite teams, I have never seen a training group that skewed even close to 80/20 males. If it wasn't 50/50, then it almost always skewed females.

Oddly enough, I think we're on the same page here: I don't think distance running is impressive to many women. As I stated in my post, the best possible outcome of a woman knowing that you are a distance runner is that they will 'possibly' be impressed. That's not a great best-of-all-possible-worlds kind of result.

Not the sport or the performance. Most women don't know anything about distance running.

BUT if you can manage to lift weight and eat enough proteins on the side, so that you basically look fit and not like a skeleton. Then it's a GREAT combo.

Because it makes you better in bed, you'll have more energy to do anything with the girl like hiking, shopping, traveling, gardening, walking ... you will look better than if you don't run, you won't run out of breath if you have to lift heavy stuff, ...

Like if you can bench press 200 pounds and run sub 18 min 5k.

You can do great damage (if you also have a good personality). You would be a great boyfriend.

On the positive side there is a girls team, so you spend a lot of time together and if you are a good runner women tend to want to be with whoever is the best at whatever it is they are into. So it's a start, but no guarantee.

On the downside, because you do spend SO much time together they can start to see you like a friend or brother and not someone they are into sexually. Also runners are usually so skinny and runty that the girls go for the baseball players, etc.

True, agree with you here. It wasn't stated anywhere that we are talking about competitive, performance-maximizing runners here. There are many average Joes who run local 5k's, 10k's or even marathons with moderate mileage and a normal physique in which case running is probably often beneficial.

This might depend on the country. In the US for example, a decent number of "women only" clubs exist - naturally inflating the ratio of other clubs towards more males. Maybe there is someone reading here who is in a big club (100+) like Central Park Track Club, Greater Boston Track Club, Seattle Running Club, Rogue Running Austin etc and can comment on the gender ratio of ACTIVE (meaning showing up multiple times a week) members. Judging from Strava, there are WAY more males, but that's not an exact test since it could also be that males are just more social or tech-savvy and likely to sign up to Strava than females.

What I would tell a young guy now (age 60) versus what I would say at 35 is vastly different.

Some points:

1. At some level, women will respect your running, but if you really want to attract women, you are going to have to leave this low paying, self-absorbed sport behind. Or at least gear it down.

2. Use your running past to help you stay in shape. Lift some weights too.

3. Ignore the sexual symmetry lessons that they teach at college. For the most part, women are different and if you pretend they are like you, well, good luck. Evolution and comparative advantage are real.

4. It really helps if you make a good living. Confidence is equally key. Despite what the gender studies Prof may tell you, women are generally more emotional, nurturing, and crave security. It is your job to provide security. The words young people use are "step-up". Sorry.

5. Since men don't look for confidence in their partners, you can be attracted to an insecure but lovely woman. Unless she is borderline, you have to learn to deal with it. It's worth it. After all, the right woman makes you better too.

6. Despite its importance, my best memories are not from my career but my experiences with the opposite sex. Take being a good man seriously so you don't miss out on this.

Hot chicks love skinny nerds

ask parker stinson

Boss. Running and athleticism doesn't attract women. All that attracts them is money. You will learn one day. The only thing that matters is size...wallet size.

Never stop being a rockstar runner !

I'm 60 my GF is 26. I'm in incredible shape because I've been running for 48 years.

She is impressed because I look better than any guy her age that she knows and I can out last her in bed.

She can't believe my energy.

Keep it up (so to speak) guys. It'll all work out.

LateRunnerPhil wrote:

There are also sports that are worse than running. One is cycling.

1) In cycling, there are FAR more males compared to females, it's like 95/5 compared to like 50/50 in running.

That was what it was like when I was cycling in the '80s and '90s. Now, at least where I live, I see as many women as men on fatbikes. Way more more women than men during the day (assuming groups of athletic housewives), more men in the evening/night (after work). About 50/50 on the weekends.

runn wrote:

I'm 60 my GF is 26. I'm in incredible shape because I've been running for 48 years.

She is impressed because I look better than any guy her age that she knows and I can out last her in bed.

She can't believe my energy.

Keep it up (so to speak) guys. It'll all work out.

Bullsh*t.

Maybe you are in decent shape, but no 60 year old looks "better than any guy" in their mid-20s.

aoxomoxoa wrote:

runn wrote:

I'm 60 my GF is 26. I'm in incredible shape because I've been running for 48 years.

She is impressed because I look better than any guy her age that she knows and I can out last her in bed.

She can't believe my energy.

Keep it up (so to speak) guys. It'll all work out.

Bullsh*t.

Maybe you are in decent shape, but no 60 year old looks "better than any guy" in their mid-20s.

Her parents must be proud.

pretzel man wrote:

aoxomoxoa wrote:

Bullsh*t.

Maybe you are in decent shape, but no 60 year old looks "better than any guy" in their mid-20s.

Her parents must be proud.

Yeah, you can only imagine her daddy issues.

That is, assuming she actually exists!

In Boulder bro we good with all that stuff bro

Bumble chicks be flockin, got options

Cleveland browns head coach wrote:

If you achieve much confidence from your running, then yes. Women love confidence. Men don't love confident females as much for some stupid reason. Anyway, my advice is to project confidence and a sense of mystery. Also, women love sprinters. They actually look like men.

You do realize that attraction is a shallow thing both ways, right? Women like confidence(emotional strength) and men like appearance. Those are BOTH shallow things to narrowly like but that's how the human nature of attraction happens to work. ( Saying for "some stupid reason" makes you appear spiteful (and not confident) towards society. If you are a man who lacks confidence or a woman who is not visually pleasing then you may have a difficult/perhaps unfair time, but there is someone for everyone so dont dwell on what you can not attain.