How women can conquer endurance sports with female-specific training
When the pair started to look into it, they realised this was true for other endurance sports, too.
In their new book Ultra Women: The Trailblazers Defying Sexism in Sport, they delve into the science of sporting performance to explore the differences between the sexes.
They ask questions like: could fat stores and muscle type give women an edge over men in ultra distances? And what roles do pace, preparation and motherhood play?
Speaking to elite athletes and scientists, they reveal the largely unknown past of female endurance.
The book introduces poverty-stricken Greek mother Stamata Revithi, who sneaked into the 1896 Athens Olympics marathon; 1980s swimming pioneer Lynne Cox – who crossed the world's coldest oceans in just a swimsuit; and Jasmin Paris, a British veterinarian who ran almost non-stop to win a 268-mile (431km) mountain race, the 2019 Montane Winter Spine Race along the Pennine Way in the UK – while breastfeeding.
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South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Top fillies Whirl and See The Fire set for a Goodwood showdown in the Nassau Stakes
Andrew Balding has a leading chance in the Nassau Stakes with See The Fire. Photo: Whirl and See The Fire are set for a Group One Nassau Stakes (2,000m) showdown at Glorious Goodwood on Thursday. See The Fire arrived a neck too late behind Aidan O'Brien's Opera Singer 12 months ago and will need to overcome another Ballydoyle powerhouse in Whirl if she is to break her top-level duck at the ninth attempt. Andrew Balding's filly has looked better than ever this season and ran riot in the Group Two Middleton Fillies' Stakes (2,000m) at York in May, streaking away by a remarkable 12 lengths. Most recently, she finished third behind Ombudsman in the Group One Prince Of Wales's Stakes (2,000m) at Royal Ascot and comes into the race as the highest-rated in the line-up. She concedes 9lb to a younger Whirl, but Balding is adamant his filly has unfinished business in the Nassau. 'She's a very exciting filly and we have always fancied going back for the Nassau,' said Balding. This will not be an easy task for her, however, with O'Brien's Whirl looking a class act this campaign. She won a Group Three at York in May and took a giant leap forward when beaten by just a neck in the Group One Oaks (2,400m) at Epsom. HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. The winner, Minnie Hawk, franked the form by winning the Group One Irish Oaks (2,400m) on her next start, and Whirl was last seen winning the Group One Pretty Polly Stakes (2,000m) at the Curragh. Whirl just about manages to hold off the challenge of fav Kalpana and land the spoils in the @pphorseracing Pretty Polly Stakes@Ballydoyle — The Curragh Racecourse (@curraghrace) June 28, 2025 The second from that race, Kalpana, ran a huge race to finish second in the Group One King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2,400m), giving further substance to Whirl's already bulletproof form. 'She [Whirl] was coming back in trip and when you are trying to outstay a rival as good as Kalpana that is very difficult but Ryan (Moore) got it spot on. And as we had seen in the Oaks, Whirl wasn't for surrendering,' said O'Brien. Cercene caused a boilover when she won the Group One Coronation Stakes (1,600m) at Royal Ascot and is now moved up in distance by her trainer Joseph Murphy. She has seven lengths to make up with Whirl on their meeting at the Curragh last year in Group Three company, but Murphy's filly has evidently improved since that encounter. O'Brien also runs Group One Prix de Diane (2,000m) second Bedtime Story, who had a torrid trip on that occasion and remains totally unexposed at the distance. Front runner Running Lion, trained by John and Thady Gosden, is set to go off as the outsider. She has not quite been at her best this campaign and is likely vulnerable to unexposed rivals conceding a huge amount of weight. Also on the card is the Group Two Richmond Stakes (1,200m), a nine-runner contest that is wide open on paper. The form standard is set by the Group Two Coventry Stakes (1,200m) third Coppull for trainer Clive Cox, while the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes (1,000m) winner Havana Hurricane is another with a leading chance for Even Johnson Houghton.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Field Of Gold on the verge of being outright world's best horse ahead of superb Sussex Stakes
The John and Thady Gosden-trained star takes on older horses for the first time in Wednesday's Goodwood feature Field Of Gold will stake his claim to being the best horse in the world when he tackles the Group One Sussex Stakes (1,600m) at Goodwood on Wednesday. The John and Thady Gosden-trained star is already the highest rated three-year-old in the world but could become the outright best horse on the planet when he takes on the likes of Henri Matisse, Rosallion and Docklands. The striking grey has won three of his four starts this campaign and is unlucky to not be unbeaten, suffering a narrow defeat in the Group One 2,000 Guineas (1,600m) at Newmarket after a successful reappearance. After that near miss, jockey Colin Keane – now the retained rider for owners Juddmonte – took over in the saddle from Kieren Shoemark and has been successful on two occasions. Where were you when... Field Of Gold blew the Royal @Ascot crowd away with a scintillating performance in the St James's Palace Stakes! — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 24, 2025 Winning the Group One Irish 2,000 Guineas (1,600m) at the Curragh, he then sprinted away from Henri Matisse in devastating fashion to win the Group One St James's Palace Stakes (1,600m) at Royal Ascot last month. There will be another jockey change for Field Of Gold, however, with Keane watching on from the sidelines as he serves a ban for a whip offence. William Buick, former stable rider for John Gosden, has been drafted in as super sub. 'The track is very different from Ascot or The Curragh but the horse is athletic, he's got great balance, and hopefully he'll handle the track well. He's in great order and we're looking forward to running him,' said John Gosden. This will be the first time Field Of Gold will take on older opposition, with Rosallion and Docklands leading the charge for the older generation. The pair clashed in the Group One Queen Anne Stakes (1,600m) at Royal Ascot last month, with the Harry Eustace-trained Docklands causing a boilover after getting up by a nose to defeat Rosallion. WHAT A START TO #ROYALASCOT! PHOTO FINISH IN THE QUEEN ANNE STAKES... AND IT GOES TO DOCKLANDS! — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2025 Rosallion, who won last year's Group One Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes, is the apple of trainer Richard Hannon's eye, and he thinks his stable star is peaking at the perfect time. 'I'm very happy with him. He did a very good piece of work last week. I haven't seen him work like that for a long time,' said Hannon. 'It's going to be an extremely good race and he's taking on extremely good three-year-olds, giving them weight, which makes it hard, but I think he is peaking now.' Henri Matisse won the Group One Poule d'Essai des Poulains (1600m) at Longchamp in May but was no match for Field Of Gold at Royal Ascot, left trailing by three and a half lengths. His trainer Aidan O'Brien is left undeterred, however, and thinks there could be more to come from his Classic winner. Henri Matisse takes the Poule d'Essai des Poulains (G1)! — IFHA's Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (@worldsbesthorse) May 11, 2025 'You're never happy when you get beaten, but Henri Matisse ran a good race and we've been happy with him since. He's progressing,' said O'Brien. There are two Group Three races on the card that will complement the feature, the first being the HKJC World Pool Oak Tree Stakes (1,400m). The second is the HKJC World Pool Molecomb Stakes (1,000m), where the Ger Lyons-trained Lady Iman bids to get back on track. She won her first three starts impressively and had excuses when beaten in a 1,200m Group Two on her most recent outing, with her trainer now dropping her back in distance.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Will your child become obese as an adult? New tool identifies those genetically at risk
Scientists have developed a tool that can measure a child's risk of becoming obese in later life. This new resource may one day mean that those at highest risk will get targeted support to prevent them from becoming obese in the first place. The tool, which assesses a person's genetic risk of obesity , works twice as well as any other obesity risk predictor, academics said. As well as identifying children at risk, it can also predict how well obese adults will respond to targeted weight-loss programmes. Academics used data on the genetic variations from more than 5 million people to create a tool called a polygenic risk score, which analyses millions of DNA variations to predict a person's susceptibility to becoming overweight. The scientists found that the tool could successfully predict weight gain during childhood from the age of just two and a half. Photo: Shutterstock The tool could explain 17.6 per cent of the variation in the body mass index score (BMI) – calculated from a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in metres – from people in the UK, they found.
