WOMEN RULE!

At my seminars at race expos around the country, and in the chapter entitled, 'What Are You  Running From,' in my latest book, "Personal Best," www.muldowneyrunning.com, I talk about the importance of running for women.

More women are running and participating in races than ever before. And it's no wonder.

Most women can accomplish in an hour what it takes us guys to accomplish in an entire day.

Women have been "multitaskers" before the word was invented.

So, for many women, I believe it is absolutely essential to carve that time out of a busy schedule to set aside time for training and racing.

And, many women are doing just that.

On October 20, Rachel Bachman, writing for the Wall Street Journal, penned an article entitled, "The Half Marathon Achieves Its Personal Best."

She writes:

"Nearly two million people finished a half-marathon in the U.S. last year, an all-time high and a fourfold increase from 2000, according to industry tracker Running USA. The 13.1-mile half-marathon now counts more than three times as many annual finishers as the 26.2-mile marathon.

Fans of the half-marathon say it is long enough to present a challenge but short enough that novices can train for it in a few months. It’s also gentler on the body. With proper training, half-marathoners can avoid some overuse injuries common to marathoners, such as stress fractures and joint irritation, says Kelley Anderson, primary-care sports medicine physician at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine in Pittsburgh.

“I can walk after a half-marathon,” says Teri Romero, a 44-year-old mother of three in Fremont, Calif.

About 61% of all half-marathon finishers last year were female, an all-time high for any standard-distance race. Women are more likely than men to form training groups—one nationwide running club is called Moms Run This Town—and use social media to talk about races, says Ryan Lamppa, a former Running USA researcher who now runs a media and event marketing company.

Fast, slender men led the first American running boom, in the 1970s and ’80s. But women of all shapes and sizes are leading the second running boom. Mr. Lamppa, the running analyst, traces its start to Oprah Winfrey ’s running the 1994 Marine Corps Marathon. Ms. Winfrey’s 4½-hour finish persuaded millions that they, too, could run long distances."

Six out of every ten half marathon finishers are women."

Three weeks ago, after I crossed the finish line at the Philadelphia Half Marathon, I waited for my wife, who completed her first half marathon in a fine time of 2:16. I'm going to say that I estimated that at least 7 out of 10 finishing in that time frame were women.

Keep it up ladies!

Running has become YOUR sport. Elite women are running faster times than ever before, and the masses of women participating in races continues to grow.

Women have successfully smashed running's "glass ceiling," and from here, the sky's the limit.

                                 Samantha Snukis, Elite Runner from Saint Clair, Pennsylvania