I made an interesting observation at the track today while running, something I've never really noted... but realised.

There aren't many dedicated female runners, nor are the proportion of female runners to male runners equal. On any given day on the track in the evening, you'll generally find more male runner than female and at the dead of dawn, almost no female runners!

The only female runners I saw mostly had male companions (young 20s-30s sort) or running very casually with their friends. There aren't much who are seriously training on running, which is normally reflected by;

- Regular runs on fixed days of the week & fixed timings +/- 1 hr.
- Running Apparel, very few people invest in running apparel (as dirt cheap as they already are!). A proper running shorts + sports singlet reflects dedication
- Distance covered during run, most of them barely hit 2.4 km while serious runners hit minimum 4km and above.
- Running technique, While I am not the best of runners (in fact rather mediocre) you can tell if a person's running technique is efficient by the amount of rocking from side to side, and the fluidity of their movement, breathing rhythm.

Does that mean that woman are less driven to be good runners? Or simply that they happen to hang out in the gym more often? Incidentally while I'm at the gym, the cardio machines are almost exclusively booked by woman most of the time...

Anyone care to hazard a guess on why females mostly seem to run on the track when their male companion is a dedicated runner or with friends?