Why women's marathon times hold steadier with age

In Singapore's marathon, women's finish times hold steadier with age than men's do, and behind that pattern is a strength and bone story every woman who runs should know.

TL;DR

The gender gap by age, Singaporean marathon

We split every cut by gender, because bunching them hides the pattern that matters. Here is the gap between the male and female median, decade by decade.

The gap is widest in the 40s at 19 minutes, and nearly closes by the 60s. Some of that is selection working differently across the genders, and some of it is that far fewer women run into the older age groups, so the ones who do are a highly committed few.

Why women's times hold steadier

Here is the pattern that separates the genders. Men in their 40s were the fastest male age group. Women in their 40s ran almost exactly the same median as women in their 20s: no age advantage, but no collapse either. Women's marathon times are flatter across the decades than men's.

That flatness is a strength story waiting to happen. It means the ceiling for a woman in her 40s or 50s is not fixed by age. It is set by training, and specifically by whether she keeps her muscle and power as the years pass.

Far fewer women, further up the ages

The starker gap is participation. Women were 18 per cent of the marathon and a third of the half. Those numbers thin further with age, so most of the women running past 50 are a small, dedicated group.

That is not a reason to expect less. It is the opposite. The women who keep running into their 50s and beyond show what is possible when strength training holds off the decline the rest of the population accepts as inevitable.

The strength and bone story

For women, the case for strength training is stronger than for men, because the years around menopause accelerate the loss of both muscle and bone. Left unaddressed, that loss shows up as slower running, higher injury risk, and, later, fracture risk.

Strength training is the most evidence-backed defence on all three fronts. It reduced overuse injuries by roughly half, it preserves the muscle that carries running pace, and it loads bone in the way that keeps it dense. It is the single most important thing a woman who runs can add to her week.

That is the side of training we build with women at Catalyst. Start with personal training for runners in Singapore, or read the full 2025 study.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Do women's marathon times slow down with age?

Less sharply than men's in Singapore's data. Women in their 40s ran about the same median as women in their 20s, and the gap to men narrows with age. Women's finish times are flatter across the decades, which means training, not age, sets the ceiling.

Q. Why is strength training important for women who run?

The years around menopause accelerate the loss of muscle and bone. Strength training defends muscle that carries running pace, loads bone to keep it dense, and reduces injury risk. For a woman who runs, it is the highest-value addition to the training week.

Q. How many women ran the Singapore Marathon?

Women were about 18 per cent of the 2025 marathon and roughly a third of the half marathon, and the share thins further in the older age groups.

Citations

Lauersen JB, Bertelsen DM, Andersen LB (2014). The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48(11), 871-877. doi.org