14.8%

In spite of the beautiful weather and great location, this years’ first cross race was very well attended. From what I can gather by the preliminary results, around 108 adults came out to brave the sunshine and warm temperatures. A great turnout, no question – but of the 108 adult racers, only 16 of them were women. That works out to 14.8%. In case you’re wondering, this is what that looks like:

Hmm.

Sadly, from what I’ve seen this is pretty typical. Considering the last time I checked (and I do check daily) women make up roughly 50% of the worlds’ population, I think we can do better than that. While increasing female attendance dramatically reduces my chances of winning, I would still love to see more of the the gentle sex come out to kick some ass – even if it’s mine. So let’s all join hands and work together to encourage our girlfriends, sisters, neighbours, wives and moms to come out and race. I guarantee it will make you faster – because nothing is quite as motivating as sibling rivalry, or the fear of getting beaten by your mom.

Let’s see if we can hit 25% before the end of the season. That would be a great start.