During a marathon, after the 30th kilometer, you can hit the famous “wall” at any time. Exhausted, your body breaks down and you find yourself dragging your unresponsive carcass over the ten remaining terminals. For women, this legendary “wall” seems to materialize before the race even begins. In 2021, on the starting line of marathons in France, there were only 20% women, compared to 28% for half-marathons (21 km) and more than 40% for 10 km.
“We are not “programmed” for this kind of challenge. Women are brought up in aesthetic or healthy sport, and with gentle practice,” says Elisa, 32 years old. Another complaint for the runner, who has never run more than 15 km: “We are never pushed. On Facebook running groups, as soon as a woman posts her time, she is told that it is already very good, that it is not bad at all… In other words, that it is sufficient and that it is not there is no need to do more. Men are more challenged and therefore seek performance more.”
A test banned for a long time
The lack of women in the discipline leads to a vicious circle. “We have fewer female models running the marathon, so we plan less for this event,” continues Nathalie, 57, who emphasizes having waited a long time before meeting her first marathon runner. And for good reason, the marathon has long been prohibited for women. It was not until 1967 that a woman officially ran the distance despite the ban in Boston, and 1984 to see the women’s event at the Olympic Games.
Maëva, 42, reverses the question: “Why do so many men do marathons? » And indeed, apart from the ego of proudly approaching your medal in the open space the next day, running 42 kilometers in a row is of no use. Whether for aesthetic, health or physical fitness criteria, shorter and less heavy runs on the legs will be much more optimal – in addition to drastically reducing the risk of injury. “It’s a guy’s thing to always want to do more, run more, show that you’re the strongest,” Maëva laughs. Women don’t need that, and we’re not going to complain about being less stupid than them. »
An unmanageable preparation with the mental load of home?
For those who are still tempted by the adventure, there remains one last major obstacle: preparing for it. Ophélia Passionate Runner, a running influencer with 20,000 Instagram followers, already has three marathons under her belt. On the networks, she tries to convince other women to take the plunge: “I talk a lot with women who have just registered for their first marathon. The distance scares them but it is especially the preparation that makes them doubt most of the time. »
Any serious coach will tell you: allow at least three sessions per week for three months. “It’s far too time-consuming to prepare with the mental load we put on. While running, I will feel guilty, telling myself that I should rather take care of the children, help them with their homework, prepare meals, etc. », breathes Mélanie, 28 years old and who limits herself to semi. Particularly in one session: the sacrosanct long outing, essential to prepare the legs to swallow the 42.195 km. “But for me, a two-hour outing is impossible,” she continues. I can’t leave the kids that long. Between work and the end of daycare, I have 45 minutes, which is enough to train and perform over shorter distances, but incompatible with a marathon. »
Not to mention that a long outing often means going far from home – unless you like to go back and forth for 500 meters. And here again, women are at a disadvantage: “Running for a long time means having to endure more comments from the jerks, and being afraid if I am far from the city. I can “bear” one comment about my butt during a forty minute run, five comments in two hours of running, it gets downright depressing. »
Better preparation?
This quarterly regularity with almost no downtime raises another limit. “Hyper-regular and progressive training plans do not take women and their periods into account at all,” adds Milène, 27 years old. When I’m in too much pain, I can’t run. And out of the 15,000 methods to succeed in your marathon on the Internet, none mentions this problem which still concerns half of the population! »
Also a wiser side can be explained. “I have the impression that we women are more diligent and that we will not embark on a project if we are not sure that we are perfectly prepared for it,” says Marise, 32, who has just to finally do the “queen” distance in 2023 after ten years of running. Men are capable of going on a semi in a month of training on a whim or a challenge between friends for example. We prepare more slowly, but better I think. » Same observation for Ophélia: “I think that most do not dare because the distance is scary. Women often tend to ask themselves more questions and if they commit it is to be sure to finish it. »
Our Paris Marathon file
At terrible Boston marathon 2018, in apocalyptic conditions of rain and cold, 5% of men had given up, as did 3.8% of women. Angry with these figures, some have assumed that women’s greater body fat protects them better from the cold. Problem with this not very fair theory: in this same race in 2012, when the thermometer showed a scorching 30 degrees, the women had, again, given up less than the men.