July 9, 2026, 11:05 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Anyone who has run a marathon knows that the second half is particularly exhausting. A large study involving over 870,000 marathon runners has now shown that women handle the strain in the second half significantly better than men. There could be two reasons for this.
In marathon running, it’s especially important to manage your energy properly. Many underestimate the transition to fat metabolism when carbohydrate stores are depleted.1 This typically occurs in the second half of the 26.2-mile distance. This means the body no longer primarily relies on carbohydrates but instead taps into its fat reserves for energy. At the same time, the body is already exhausted. A large study of Berlin marathon runners has now shown that women apparently cope much better in the second half of the marathon than men. The latter experience a significant drop in performance much more frequently. But why do men and women expend themselves differently in marathons?
What Was Examined in the Study?
International researchers evaluated and compared the data of Berlin marathon runners.2 They analyzed the Berlin Marathon times from 1999 to 2025, recorded by a total of 873,334 electronic timing devices. These devices transmitted the times for the distance covered every five kilometers. From this, the researchers could determine the speed for each section and compare the pace of the first and second halves of the marathon.
During the study period, 76 percent of the runners were male, with more than half of them between 35 and 49 years old. Only those who completed the entire 26.2-mile run were included in the evaluation. It is possible for a person to have participated in multiple marathons in Berlin. However, the study only analyzed runners who finished the race. Those who dropped out due to a significant performance drop (DNF) are not included in the statistics. Therefore, the risk of “hitting the wall” could be even higher overall.
Incidentally, the data from the Berlin Marathon was chosen for this study because the course is considered particularly flat by international standards. This means that no ascents or descents skew the data. Additionally, it offers ideal conditions for new record runs, as Tigist Assefa recently demonstrated with the new women’s world record (2:11:53 hours) in 2023.
What Is the Marathon Wall?
Many marathon runners talk about the so-called marathon wall or the fear of hitting this wall. This refers to the moment in the race when the body and mind suddenly weaken, and one must fight through this imaginary wall. This moment often arises from a combination of depleted energy reserves—empty carbohydrate stores—and muscle fatigue. Both affect mood, reflecting in a physical and mental low.
In the study, researchers define this phase as the point when a runner experiences a performance drop of at least 20 percent in the second half of the marathon compared to the first half.
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Men Hit the Wall Much More Often Than Women
The data analysis initially showed that men completed marathons faster on average than women. The average running time for men was 4:02 hours, while for women it was 4:29 hours. Interestingly, however, men hit the wall about twice as often in the second half of the marathon. This means they experienced a significant drop in performance compared to the first half. Even more surprising is that among the fastest runners (with a running time under three hours), men were six times more likely to experience a performance drop than women.
Additionally, it was found that the pace of male runners tended to be less consistent than that of female runners. Men tended to slow down significantly later in the race, around kilometer 25, while women did so around kilometer 20.
Moreover, 52 percent of women, but only 36 percent of men, maintained a consistent pace throughout the marathon. This means they were not affected by a performance drop. In the last five kilometers of the race, men reduced their pace by about 18 percent, while women did so by only 13 percent.
Possible Explanations for the Differences Between Men and Women in Marathons
The researchers suggest two possible reasons why men are more affected by performance drops in marathons than women. Previous studies have already shown that women may be better able to maintain their glycogen levels while running.3
This means that the female body may be continuously supplied with energy, protecting against a performance drop.
On the other hand, women are likely better at realistically assessing their pace and adjusting it to their personal performance capacity from the start of the race. Men, however, often start a race overconfidently, running out of steam in the second half. This could be related to different competitive behaviors between men and women, as examined in a scientific article.4
Whether this also applies to marathons would need to be explicitly examined in further studies. Nevertheless, the data suggests that men could benefit from starting a marathon a bit slower and conserving energy for the second half. This way, men would hit the imaginary marathon wall much less frequently.