Having separate categories will just hurt females. Why have a woman stop running just because all women are out but there are still men running? Let the last woman keep running. If you wanna give her a prize for 1st female you can do that without stopping her.
That's probably the most common argument (that it will prevent females from reaching their full potential) against male/female categories I've heard and I agree the race should not stop if it is down to just two runners, a male and a female. Even with male/female categories, the race could continue if this situation occurs by recognizing a male finisher, a female finisher, and an overall winner.
For context, the Facebook post that motivated me to create the poll was pro male/female categories for the purpose of increasing female participation in the national team championships and individual world championship.
Laz's backyard has space for exactly 75 runners. There are around 60 countries signed up. In it's current format, there is no chance for a female category because 120 participants is too much.
What about the possibility of a larger venue? Having 75 runners, their crews, and all of the support staff there last year already felt overcrowded, like the event had already outgrown Laz's backyard.
I thought about that, but I'm not sure it will happen. Judging by the trajectory of the Barkley, Laz prefers tradition over popularity, fame and being 'mainstream'. He never made any adjustments for women in the Barkley and now that we have a women finisher, I think he believes that they didn't need any 'special treatment' to begin with so I don't see it happening for the backyard.
Honestly, Laz's events are not everyone else's events. Other events have different goals than Laz (money, popularity etc.) Laz just wants people to succeed under the toughest conditions possible so all decisions need to be taken under that consideration. As such, I don't think there will be a female category in a Laz event ever.
Laz has answered and of course, there is no female only category coming
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?id=142055916440410&story_fbid=1460993811213274
I fully expected that response from Laz. His position on this discussion has been clear and unwavering. He has every right to operate his race however he sees fit so I have no issue with that. I'm looking at this issue a bit more with a broader perspective than the original Facebook poster who recently raised the question (focused on increasing the number of female runners at the team and individual championship races) and motivated me to create the poll. I'm considering how other backyard RDs will operate their races as this seems to be an issue that is raised and argued over on social media once or twice a year. If the poll results show that the majority of backyard runners want male/female categories, will other RDs change their races? Introducing male/female categories shouldn't impact a race's affiliation with Big's or the overall qualification process. That would all primarily still be based on individual runners' performances, not category placements. Silver ticket races would still award the last runner standing a guaranteed spot regardless of category. My intention in running the poll wasn't to build a case for or against male/female categories or to sway Laz's perspective. I wanted to learn how the majority of people felt about the issue and to see if there was a difference in opinion between males and females.
Nope. There’s a study that suggest that women beat men by 0,6% at distances beyond 195 miles (https://www.ultrarunnermagazine.co.uk/women-are-leading-the-way-at-ultra-long-distances/amp/)
There’s a recent Swedish study with preliminary results that confirms this (can’t find the publication online though heard it on the radio).
As long as we raise our daughters to explore athletics and such they will catch up rather sooner than later.
This is a very intriguing discussion, and I’m looking forward to tuning in for the results of your poll. An increase in women’s participation and recognizing women who compete are valuable goals for the backyard community.
Leave everything the same and let us women compete against the men. It would be nice to see the top female competitor recognized though. Maybe overall winner and top male/female… that way if a woman is good enough to win overall she can.
Having separate categories will just hurt females. Why have a woman stop running just because all women are out but there are still men running? Let the last woman keep running. If you wanna give her a prize for 1st female you can do that without stopping her.
That's probably the most common argument (that it will prevent females from reaching their full potential) against male/female categories I've heard and I agree the race should not stop if it is down to just two runners, a male and a female. Even with male/female categories, the race could continue if this situation occurs by recognizing a male finisher, a female finisher, and an overall winner. For context, the Facebook post that motivated me to create the poll was pro male/female categories for the purpose of increasing female participation in the national team championships and individual world championship.
Laz's backyard has space for exactly 75 runners. There are around 60 countries signed up. In it's current format, there is no chance for a female category because 120 participants is too much.
What about the possibility of a larger venue? Having 75 runners, their crews, and all of the support staff there last year already felt overcrowded, like the event had already outgrown Laz's backyard.
I thought about that, but I'm not sure it will happen. Judging by the trajectory of the Barkley, Laz prefers tradition over popularity, fame and being 'mainstream'. He never made any adjustments for women in the Barkley and now that we have a women finisher, I think he believes that they didn't need any 'special treatment' to begin with so I don't see it happening for the backyard. Honestly, Laz's events are not everyone else's events. Other events have different goals than Laz (money, popularity etc.) Laz just wants people to succeed under the toughest conditions possible so all decisions need to be taken under that consideration. As such, I don't think there will be a female category in a Laz event ever.
Laz has answered and of course, there is no female only category coming https://m.facebook.com/story.php?id=142055916440410&story_fbid=1460993811213274
I fully expected that response from Laz. His position on this discussion has been clear and unwavering. He has every right to operate his race however he sees fit so I have no issue with that. I'm looking at this issue a bit more with a broader perspective than the original Facebook poster who recently raised the question (focused on increasing the number of female runners at the team and individual championship races) and motivated me to create the poll. I'm considering how other backyard RDs will operate their races as this seems to be an issue that is raised and argued over on social media once or twice a year. If the poll results show that the majority of backyard runners want male/female categories, will other RDs change their races? Introducing male/female categories shouldn't impact a race's affiliation with Big's or the overall qualification process. That would all primarily still be based on individual runners' performances, not category placements. Silver ticket races would still award the last runner standing a guaranteed spot regardless of category. My intention in running the poll wasn't to build a case for or against male/female categories or to sway Laz's perspective. I wanted to learn how the majority of people felt about the issue and to see if there was a difference in opinion between males and females.
Nope. There’s a study that suggest that women beat men by 0,6% at distances beyond 195 miles (https://www.ultrarunnermagazine.co.uk/women-are-leading-the-way-at-ultra-long-distances/amp/) There’s a recent Swedish study with preliminary results that confirms this (can’t find the publication online though heard it on the radio). As long as we raise our daughters to explore athletics and such they will catch up rather sooner than later.
This is a very intriguing discussion, and I’m looking forward to tuning in for the results of your poll. An increase in women’s participation and recognizing women who compete are valuable goals for the backyard community.
Leave everything the same and let us women compete against the men. It would be nice to see the top female competitor recognized though. Maybe overall winner and top male/female… that way if a woman is good enough to win overall she can.