Women run marathons to keep weight down, men sign up for competition

Men and women participate in marathons for very different reasons, a study suggests.

While it's the thrill of competition that attracts many men to taking up marathon running, in case of women, it is for shedding pounds or improving mood.

To reach the conclusion, Elizabeth Loughren, of the University of Birmingham, recruited more than 900 first-time marathon runners, aged between 18 and 72.

After analyses it was found that men were more likely to say they were running "to see how high I can place" or to achieve a certain time, reports The Daily Express.

Meanwhile, women cited reasons such as "to improve my mood", to lose weight, or "to feel at peace with the world".

The study also found that 79 per cent of the men planned to do a another marathon within a year, compared with 70 per cent of the women.

The findings were presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference.