New Research: Female Runners May Be More Fatigue-Resistant Than Men During Long Runs

When it comes to endurance performance, the conversation often centers around speed, VO2 max, and training volume. But a growing body of research is highlighting another important factor: durability—your ability to maintain performance as fatigue accumulates.

A newly published study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports suggests that highly trained female runners may have an advantage in this area, demonstrating greater resilience to fatigue and a better ability to maintain performance during prolonged exercise compared to performance-matched male runners.

For endurance athletes, trail runners, marathoners, and anyone training for long events, these findings offer valuable insight into how the body responds to sustained exercise and what it takes to recover effectively.

What Is Durability in Endurance Sports?

Durability refers to an athlete's ability to maintain physiological performance despite accumulating fatigue over time.

In practical terms, durability determines how well you can:

• Maintain pace late in a race
• Preserve running economy
• Sustain power output
• Limit performance decline during prolonged exercise
• Recover from repeated training sessions

Two athletes may have similar fitness levels at the start of an event, but the more durable athlete is often the one who performs better in the final stages.

The Study: Female vs. Male Endurance Durability

Researchers recruited:

• 11 highly trained female trail runners
• 11 highly trained male trail runners

Importantly, participants were performance-matched, meaning researchers controlled for fitness and competitive ability rather than simply comparing average men and women.

The athletes completed:

• A 3-hour treadmill running protocol
• Repeated uphill time trials
• Physiological testing throughout the session
• Neuromuscular performance assessments
• Metabolic and fatigue measurements

The goal was to determine how performance and physiological responses changed as fatigue accumulated.

Key Finding #1: Female Runners Maintained Performance Better

The most striking result was the difference in performance decline.

After three hours of running:

• Female runners experienced only about a 1% decrease in uphill time-trial performance.
• Male runners experienced roughly a 10% decrease.

Despite beginning the study with similar relative performance levels, women maintained their output far more effectively as fatigue accumulated.

This suggests female athletes may possess greater endurance durability under prolonged exercise conditions.

Key Finding #2: Better Fuel Preservation

One reason may involve how men and women utilize energy during endurance exercise.

Researchers observed evidence that female runners preserved carbohydrate stores more effectively during the prolonged run.

Previous research has consistently shown that women tend to:

• Oxidize more fat during endurance exercise
• Rely less heavily on glycogen stores
• Maintain blood glucose more effectively
• Experience slower carbohydrate depletion

Because glycogen depletion is a major contributor to fatigue, preserving carbohydrate stores may help explain why the female runners experienced less performance decline.

Key Finding #3: Less Neuromuscular Fatigue

The researchers also measured strength and neuromuscular performance throughout the protocol.

Female athletes demonstrated smaller reductions in muscle function compared to males.

This finding indicates that women may experience:

• Less peripheral fatigue
• Better muscle contractile preservation
• Greater resistance to prolonged exercise stress

In practical terms, this could help athletes maintain running mechanics and power output deeper into races and long training sessions.

Key Finding #4: Lower Perceived Effort

Another interesting observation was that female runners reported smaller increases in perceived exertion.

Even while completing the same workload, women appeared to tolerate prolonged exercise stress more effectively.

This psychological and physiological resilience may contribute to improved pacing and performance maintenance during long events.

What This Means for Endurance Athletes

These findings continue a growing trend in sports science showing that women may possess several unique physiological advantages during prolonged endurance exercise.

Potential advantages include:

• Greater fatigue resistance
• Improved fuel efficiency
• Enhanced metabolic flexibility
• Reduced neuromuscular decline
• Better performance preservation during long-duration efforts

For coaches and athletes, this reinforces the importance of individualized training strategies rather than assuming male and female athletes respond identically to endurance stress.

The Bottom Line

This new research suggests that highly trained female runners may possess greater durability and physiological resilience during prolonged endurance exercise compared to performance-matched male runners.

Female athletes maintained performance more effectively, experienced less fatigue-related decline, preserved energy stores better, and demonstrated superior resistance to prolonged exercise stress.

As researchers continue exploring sex-based differences in endurance performance, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: durability may be one of the most important—and often overlooked—determinants of success in long-distance sports.

References

1. Jaén-Carrillo D, et al. Highly Trained Female Runners Show Greater Durability and Physiological Resilience Than Performance-Matched Male Counterparts. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 2026.
2. Hunter SK. Sex Differences in Human Fatigability: Mechanisms and Insight to Physiological Responses. Acta Physiologica. 2014.
3. Tarnopolsky MA. Sex Differences in Exercise Metabolism and the Role of 17-Beta Estradiol. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2008.
4. Costello JT, Bieuzen F, Bleakley CM. Where Are All the Female Participants in Sports and Exercise Medicine Research? European Journal of Sport Science. 2014.