text: In the battle of the sexes, new UBC research suggests that men may be stronger physically but women have much greater muscle endurance than their male counterparts. 
   
   In a new study from UBC's Okanagan campus, researchers in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences have found that women are considerably less exhausted after natural, dynamic muscle exercises than men of similar age and athletic ability. 
   
   "We've known for some time that women are less fatigable than men during isometric muscle tests -- static exercises where joints don't move, such as holding a weight -- but we wanted to find out if that's true during more dynamic and practical everyday movements," says Assistant Professor Brian Dalton. "And the answer is pretty definitive: women can outlast men by a wide margin." 
   
   In his study, done in collaboration with the University of Guelph and University of Oregon, Dalton recruited eight men and nine women that were at a similar level of physical fitness. Participants were asked to flex their foot against a suite of sensors as quickly as they could 200 times. The speed, power and torque of their movements and electrical activity of their muscles was then captured and recorded over time. 
   
   "We chose to measure foot movements because it makes use of calf muscles on the back of the leg, which are essential for practical, everyday tasks like standing and walking," says Dalton. "What we found is that males were faster and more powerful at first but became more fatigued much faster than females." 
   
   While only one isolated muscle group was studied, Dalton says he would expect similar results for other muscles groups and his results are consistent with what has been observed elsewhere. 
   
   "We know from previous research that for events like ultra-trail running, males may complete them faster but females are considerably less tired by the end," he adds. "If ever an ultra-ultra-marathon is developed, women may well dominate in that arena." 
   
   But it's not all about competition. Dalton says his results can also inform more practical applications, such as designing exercise programs or even adapting work environments to minimize work-related fatigue and improve overall productivity. 
   
   "We may, for example, want to lower the load for males, even though they may be stronger at the outset, to more closely match the endurance observed in females," he says. "Both sexes have valuable physical abilities and it only makes sense that we study and develop the tools to afford them the best advantage." 
   
   "There's no battle at all," he jokes. "Maybe more of a balance of the sexes." 
   
   ### 
   
   The study appears in the June 2017 issue of Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism and was conducted with financial support from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. 
   
   Media Contact: 
   
   Nathan Skolski 
   
   Associate Director, Public Affairs | University Relations 
   
   The University of British Columbia | Okanagan campus 
   
   Phone: 250-807-9926 | Cell: 778-628-3093 
   
   Email: nathan.skolski@ubc.ca ||||| “What’s the equivalent of the four-minute mile for women?” The question was casually thrown out in a group of about ten sports-minded women, a mix of athletes and business leaders. We were all gathered around a big open table inside Oiselle headquarters in Seattle. There was no immediate answer, and the question lingered awkwardly in the air. 
   
   
   
   “4:40?” Someone said. “4:40 or 4:30?” 
   
   
   
   Another long pause. “4:30, definitely 4:30.” 
   
   
   
   There were a few nods, but the long pause and the unfamiliarity with this number, 4:30, tinged the air with sadness. Here we were, a group of avid runners, some with athletic careers spanning more than two decades, including a Division 1 runner and several post-collegiate athletes, and yet the question and the answer felt foreign. How are our own benchmarks so unfamiliar? 
   
   
   
   On the men’s side, the milestones are easy to call up, featuring names you’ve heard hundreds of times: Roger Bannister, the four-minute mile; the life and death of Steve Prefontaine; the “World’s Fastest Man” and its parade of kings—Lewis, Johnson, Bolt. 
   
   
   
   It’s not that the women’s side of the sport hasn’t had fearless protagonists and watershed moments. There’s Wilma Rudolph, the iconic sprinter of the 1950s and ’60s who became the first American woman to win three Olympic golds in track and field. There’s Joan Benoit-Samuelson, the first ever women’s Olympic marathon champion. And many more. But their stories are less well-known outside the insular running world. And when you look closer at the dominant narratives for female athletes, it becomes clear that many are not focused on a woman’s heroic talent or strength but center more around the simple concept of inclusion. 
   
   In 1967, Kathrine Switzer became the first registered woman to run the Boston Marathon. Her finish time (4 hours and 20 minutes) is infrequently cited; it’s not considered the point. Few people realize that Switzer went on to run 2:51 at the New York City Marathon in 1975, making her the third-fastest American woman marathoner at the time. Instead, the picture of the race director attempting to physically remove her from the course is one of the most iconic images of a female athlete. 
   
   
   
   In 1972, the passage of Title IX made it illegal to discriminate against female participation in sports at federally funded schools. And it’s often Title IX—rather an individual or her athletic achievements—that’s cited to celebrate progress for women in sports. Title IX was pivotal, but isn’t it reasonable to ask for more? Haven’t we earned the right to have athletic traditions and narratives that go beyond simply being allowed to participate? 
   
   
   
   The predictable counterpoint to all of this is that the dearth of women’s milestones and tradition is a result of our relatively recent entry into competitive sports—we’ve been sending large numbers of women through the college sports system only for about 45 years. But unfortunately, the tradition of nontradition marches on. 
   
   
   
   This spring, Nike made its attempt to break the two-hour barrier in the marathon, Breaking2, with no female equivalent in sight. The men’s goal is not to be discounted. It’s so ambitious that Nike built a special shoe, recruited world-class pacers, and guided the lead athlete, Eliud Kipchoge, with a laser pointer through every step. The company then poured millions of dollars into the creation of a moment—and an incredible moment it was. People from all over the world watched the live broadcast and followed it on social media. 
   
   
   
   But where is the women’s Breaking2? Was it never even considered because, like the four-minute mile, we lack a goal with numeric roundness? Or was it because the company—and the industry itself—lacks the necessary interest and creativity to define what the equivalent mark would be for women? (The world record progression suggests that a sub-2:12 women’s marathon, three minutes faster than Paula Radcliffe’s world record of 2:15, is the number to chase. Though others have argued that Radcliffe’s time may be even closer to the women’s equivalent of a sub-two-hour performance.) 
   
   Round numbers are nice, but women’s participation in sports is about more than that. Tradition is a result of both cultural reverence and the way we tell stories about female athletes. This means sharing those moments with a broader audience so we understand the significance of the feat. For example, Emma Coburn’s recent gold medal at the IAAF World Championships was one of the most iconic, exciting races in recent running history, for men or women. Don’t take my word for it. Watch it. 
   
   
   
   Regardless of the sport, milestones and lore give sports fans and participants something to look toward, celebrate, talk about, and even shoot for. 
   
   
   
   But traditions are also an investment that must compound over time. After all, it’s easy to celebrate a single moment—like Joan Benoit’s winning of the Olympic marathon. But we must continue to cherish its value, emphasize the tradition it started, and at the same time be on the lookout for what’s next. 
   
   
   
   So, as our team pondered the women’s equivalent for the four-minute mile, we concluded with a directive: We would put a stake in the ground for the women’s mile. We would add our voices to a nascent group that was already talking about sub-4:30. (Bring Back the Mile, a website and community that aims to reestablish the mile as a preeminent distance in the United States, has done an excellent job of tracking the American women who have broken 4:30.) The sub-4:30 club is a rarefied group—even more so than the sub-four-minute milers, a mark that almost 500 American men have achieved. Only 71 American women have broken 4:30 (including former Oiselle athletes Kate Grace, Lauren Penney, and Amanda Winslow). 
   
   The 4:30 mile. We will shout it from the rooftops, drop it into casual conversations, and speak of the women who break it with reverence. Because as it turns out, if we want someone to be a household name, we might have to build the houses. 
   
   Sally Bergesen (@oiselle_sally) is the founder and CEO of Oiselle, a Seattle-based athletic apparel company and athlete sponsor by and for women.
target: – Guys might be good at carrying heavy furniture but they tire faster than their female counterparts, new research out of the University of British Columbia shows. "We've known for some time that women are less fatigable than men during isometric muscle tests—static exercises where joints don't move, such as holding a weight—but we wanted to find out if that's true during more dynamic and practical everyday movements," says UBC researcher Brian Dalton in a press release. "And the answer is pretty definitive: women can outlast men by a wide margin." Collaborating with the University of Guelph and University of Oregon, the researchers report in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism that a handful of men and women were asked to flex their foot against sensors as fast as they could 200 times. Those sensors captured several metrics, including speed, power, torque, and even electrical activity in their muscles. The men were both faster and more powerful, but they also became more fatigued "much faster" than the women. Dalton notes that in ultra-trail running, men tend to be faster, but women tend to be far less tired; in fact in Outside, one runner calls for separate goals for women. "If ever an ultra-ultra-marathon is developed, women may likely dominate," Dalton says. But as for the Mars-vs.-Venus battle, Dalton jokes, "there's no battle at all. Maybe more of a balance of the sexes." More seriously: "Both sexes have valuable physical abilities and it only makes sense that we study and develop the tools to afford them the best advantage." (Sex gets better with age for women.)