Commentaries on Viewpoint: The two-hour marathon: what's the equivalent for women?

TO THE EDITOR: Hunter et al. (1) are to be congratulated for their insightful commentary regarding the equivalent of a 2-h marathon for women. It is a difficult task, as there are many possible determinants of marathon performance (not just physiological) and there is little published research about the capabilities of elite marathon runners. Nonetheless, we would like to suggest that one approach is to estimate the physiological requirements for a man to complete a 2-h marathon, followed by determination of the equivalent physiology in women, and then calculation of the time that a woman might achieve with this physiology. If we start with the simple physiological model provided by Joyner (3) [marathon running speed V̇O2max lactate threshold running economy], then the speed required to complete a 2-h marathon (21.0975 km/h) could be achieved with a V̇O2max of 76.9 ml·kg ·min 1 (4), a lactate threshold of 81% V̇O2max (5), and a running economy of 175 ml·kg ·km 1 (2). In considering that men and women appear able to obtain the same LT (relative to V̇O2max) and RE (1), the remaining calculation is to estimate the equivalent V̇O2max for a female [66–69 ml·kg ·min 1 given the 10–14% difference between men and women (1)]. Putting these values into Joyner’s equation produces estimated marathon times of 2:13:20 to 2:20:32. Thus, although Radcliffe’s time is exceptional, we do not believe that it is possible to state unequivocally that the physiological equivalent of the men’s 2-h marathon has already been achieved by a woman.