Men Twice as Likely to Hit the Wall in Marathons

Male marathon runners face a grim reality: they are twice as likely to "hit the wall" compared to their female counterparts. Suddenly finding your pace collapsing mid-race is a dread-inducing sensation familiar to many, but new data suggests men are far more prone to this dramatic slowdown.

An international research team analyzed 873,334 Berlin Marathon results to pinpoint exactly when runners slow down by 20 percent or more. The findings reveal a stark divide. While men generally cross the finish line faster than women, they are significantly more likely to experience that sudden, debilitating deceleration.

The disparity affects even the elite. Among runners who completed the race in under three hours, men were six times more likely to hit the wall than women. The physical toll is most evident in the final stretch; during the last three miles (5km), men dropped their pace by 18 percent, whereas women only slowed by 13 percent.

Despite the statistical weight of the evidence, experts insist this gap is not biological. Instead, the culprit appears to be psychological. Researchers argue that men typically "overestimate their competitive ability," leading them to push too hard and exhaust their reserves prematurely. In short, while the men may have the speed, their egos might be the true reason they are the ones stumbling at the end.

Picture this: a runner cooling down after crossing the finish line of the 2025 London Marathon.

Sports scientists know that physical fitness is only half the battle when running a marathon.

Runners must also possess psychological discipline. They need a clear game plan and the nerve to stick to it.

World-class athletes now aim for "negative splits." This means they accelerate as the race progresses.

Sebastian Sawe set the first official sub-two-hour marathon time in London this year.

He finished the latter half of his record run 88 seconds quicker than the first half.

Conversely, starting too fast burns energy supplies early. This is a major cause of poor performance.

Researchers suggest women might be significantly better at pacing themselves than men.

Scientists analyzed results from the Berlin Marathon. They chose this flat race with stable weather to rule out terrain effects.

They found that 52 per cent of women completed the 26.2-mile course without noticeably slowing.

Only one-third of men managed the same feat.

Overall, 17.63 per cent of men hit the wall in the second half of their race.

Just 9.66 per cent of women suffered from this issue.

This gender divide remained incredibly stable across decades of races.

Men were consistently more likely to hit the wall between 1999 and 2025.

This gap lasted far longer than any passing fad in training or nutrition could explain.

Among top sub-three-hour runners, the difference was even more dramatic.

Only 1.42 per cent of men slowed down versus 0.23 per cent of women.

Previous studies suggested women may be naturally better at conserving glycogen.

This stored glucose could help them maintain speed over longer races better than men.

However, researchers argue the gap between fastest men and women should not be so large if this were purely physiological.

In their paper published in Scientific Reports, they argue hitting the wall is largely a pacing issue.

The divide was visible even among top marathon runners. This suggests it is not purely physiological.

Experts say men may simply be more likely to overestimate their ability.

Dr Olivier Roy-Baillargeon, a marathon expert from The Running Clinic not involved in the study, told the Daily Mail: "The main challenge of the marathon is to estimate during the first 30 minutes of the race how you will feel during the last 30 minutes of the race."

His triple experience in coaching, racing, and pacing marathons shows female athletes tend to be a lot better than male athletes at nailing that estimate.

Previous studies show men are more likely to overestimate their abilities and take bigger risks in competitions.

This leads some competitors to start too fast and burn out in the latter half of the marathon.

Essentially, men hit the wall because their ego tells them they can run faster than they really should.

Dr Roy-Baillargeon adds: "I always tell my athletes that the first half of the race should feel much too easy, because the second one will feel so damn hard.