http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/sp...-count.html?hp
The world governing body for track and field has newly decided that records in women’s road racing will count only if they are set in women-only events to nullify the benefits of pacesetting by faster male runners, a dynamic that can exist in some marathons, half-marathons and 10-kilometer races in which men and women are in the same field.
The ruling instantly raised existential questions in the sport about what, exactly, a world-record performance is. If men are in the field but a female runner leaves them all behind and finishes in record time, should that not be treated as the record? And why is it considered smart racing strategy to benefit from the pace of a faster runner of the same sex but unsporting if a female runner follows the stride of a man?
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The I.A.A.F.’s intent was to recognize a difference in achievement between women who set marks while paced by men and those with a more difficult task of setting records while running on their own or, in rare cases, being paced by other women, said Mary Wittenberg, director of the
New York City Marathon and a member of the I.A.A.F.’s road racing commission.
“The I.A.A.F. wanted to show that women can stand on their own two feet, that they don’t need guys to help them get to world records,” Wittenberg said. “There’s definitely a difference. Women run faster with men as pacers, about a two-minute differential on average.”