One of the things about virtual trainers is that they’re a sucker for data. That is they save all the data you and all the other users save in the system. Now runcoach is releasing some of its data to highlight the varied training practices between men and women for marathons and half marathons.
Some of the key findings include:
- Women are twice as likely to use a training plan to prepare for a half marathon than men
- Women who utilized training plans realized a more significant time improvement than men – Overall, women beat their estimated runcoach finish time by 6.02 percent, compared to 3.61 percent for men.
- Men and women train and race for different reasons – women are twice as likely as men to describe their own goal as “finishing” while men are more likely to set a goal of “racing for time”
- Age makes a difference when it comes to training for the half marathon – the most popular age range of men who signed up for half marathon online training plans was between 50 and 54, versus 30 and 34 years for the average age of women who sign up for the runcoach training program.