Honestly, the old "battle of the sexes" trope in sports is usually a one-sided conversation about raw power. Men have more testosterone, bigger hearts, and more explosive muscle mass. That’s just biology. But if you shift the lens away from 100-meter sprints and look at what the human body can endure over days, not seconds, the conversation flips.
You’ve probably seen the headlines. Courtney Dauwalter winning the Moab 240-mile ultramarathon by ten hours. Not ten hours ahead of the next woman. Ten hours ahead of the first man.
When we ask what sport are women better than men, we aren't talking about who can dunk a basketball or bench press 400 pounds. We are talking about the "suffering" sports. The ones where your metabolism, your fat-burning efficiency, and your mental resilience matter more than your bicep size.
The Ultra-Endurance Shift
In the world of ultra-marathons—races that go way beyond the standard 26.2 miles—women are actually narrowing the gap to almost nothing. In some cases, they're winning outright.
A massive study of over 15,000 ultra-running results found that the longer the race, the better women perform relative to men. For 5k races, men are roughly 17.9% faster. By the time you hit 100 miles, that gap shrinks to a tiny 0.25%.
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And here is the kicker: in races over 195 miles, women actually tend to be faster than men on average.
Why the "Fairer Sex" is Harder to Break
There are a few biological "superpowers" that give women the edge when things get grueling:
- Estrogen is a Secret Weapon: We usually think of estrogen in terms of reproduction, but it’s actually a muscle-protecting powerhouse. It helps women utilize fat for fuel more efficiently than men. While men "bonk" or hit the wall when their glycogen (sugar) stores run out, women’s bodies are better at tapping into fat reserves to keep going.
- Slow-Twitch Dominance: Women generally have a higher percentage of Type I muscle fibers. These aren't for sprinting; they are the "slow and steady" fibers that are incredibly resistant to fatigue.
- Metabolic Efficiency: Recent research from 2024 and 2025 into Arctic expeditions found a phenomenon called the "Arctic Shift." Women’s bodies often maintain core temperatures more efficiently in extreme cold, spending less total energy relative to the load they are carrying.
Beyond Running: Swimming and Precision
It isn't just about the trails. Open-water swimming is another arena where men frequently find themselves staring at a woman's wake.
Take Sarah Thomas. In 2019, she became the first person to swim the English Channel four times—non-stop. That is 54 hours of continuous swimming. She didn't just beat the women's record; she did something no man had ever even attempted successfully.
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Women have a natural buoyancy advantage due to body fat distribution. In the water, body fat isn't "dead weight"—it’s fuel and floatation. This reduces the energy needed to stay horizontal, allowing female swimmers to focus entirely on forward propulsion.
Precision and "Quiet" Sports
When strength is neutralized by equipment or stance, women often dominate.
- Equestrian Events: This is one of the few Olympic sports where men and women compete directly against each other on the same playing field. Since 1972, almost every gold medal in individual dressage has gone to a woman. Success here isn't about pulling harder on the reins; it’s about "feel," subtle communication, and core stability.
- Shooting: In 10m air rifle competitions, women frequently post higher scores than men. The theory? A lower center of gravity and a different pelvic structure provide a more stable "shooting platform." Plus, there is an argument to be made for fine motor control under pressure.
- Ultra-Distance Cycling: In 2019, Fiona Kolbinger won the Transcontinental Race—a 2,485-mile unsupported bike race across Europe. she beat the second-place finisher (a man) by more than ten hours.
The Pacing Paradox
If you look at marathon data, men are notorious for "going out too fast." They let their egos pick the pace for the first ten miles and then crumble at mile twenty.
Women are smarter.
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Psychological studies and real-world race data show that women are much better at conservative pacing. They start slower and maintain a much more consistent heart rate and speed throughout the event. In a 100-mile race, "blowing up" at mile 40 because you wanted to look tough is a death sentence for your finishing time. Women play the long game.
What This Means for Your Training
Whether you're a casual hiker or an aspiring triathlete, these findings highlight that "fitness" isn't a one-size-fits-all concept.
If you want to capitalize on these natural advantages—or if you're a man trying to keep up—focus on these actionable insights:
- Prioritize Fat Adaptation: Since women are naturally better at burning fat, training your body to use fat as a primary fuel source through "low and slow" zone 2 training can help everyone avoid the dreaded "bonk."
- Embrace the Mental Game: Ultra-endurance is 90% mental. Women often report higher "flow state" scores in long events. Practice mindfulness and "reframing" pain as a temporary sensation rather than a signal to stop.
- Master Your Pacing: Don't race the person next to you in the first hour. Use a GPS watch to strictly gate your effort. If you feel like you're going too slow in the beginning, you're probably doing it right.
The data is clear: when the race gets long enough and the conditions get tough enough, the biological "advantages" men have in shorter distances start to vanish. In the 2020s and beyond, we aren't just seeing women compete; we're seeing them redefine the limits of human endurance.
Next Steps for Success:
Start tracking your pacing consistency across long efforts. Use a heart rate monitor to ensure you stay in a fat-burning zone (Zone 2) for at least 80% of your endurance training. This builds the aerobic base that allows elite female athletes to outlast the competition.