Marathon by the Sea sees surge in female runners
More than twice as many women as men are signed up for this year's Marathon by the Sea
Shawna Waterall first started running in 2010, to try to lose weight after gaining "the freshman fifteen" during university.
"One day, I was like, 'Oh God, I'm not a sporty person, what is something I can do that will make me more fit?'" she said. "And of course, with running, you just need shoes and workout clothes, so that's how I got into it."
She started taking it more seriously two years ago, and now has countless five and 10 kilometre runs, as well as three half-marathons, under her belt.
More women than ever before
Waterall is one of a steadily increasing number of women who are signing up for races across North America.
Since 2003, the percentage of women racing has gone up steadily, from 53 per cent of all racers to 67 per cent in 2015. This year, they are expecting roughly the same ratio.
Running USA shows that 57 per cent of race finishers in the United States were female in 2015, a dramatic increase from 1990, when only 25 per cent of runners were women.
In fact, women weren't even allowed to run the Boston Marathon until 1972.
These numbers are largely due to an increase in participation in the shorter distance runs- five kilometre to half-marathons. The numbers even out when it comes to full marathons.
'I can't explain it'
Mike Doyle is the founder of the Marathon by the Sea and had no idea, until he looked at the numbers, just how many women had started running.
"I can't explain it," he said. "When I was running, I always thought it was mostly males, but when you look at the numbers, it blows you away."
In fact, last year, he even tried to get more men back into the sport with a little bit of a contest.
"I started a competition to see if the males could catch up," he said. "Not even close, not even close."
"I tried to make them aware that they were getting beat, but it doesn't do a thing to get them out."
A respite from stress
Waterall thinks that the reason more women are running may coincide with women's busy lifestyles.
She also thinks that the numbers might be increasing because women tend to be more community-oriented.
"I don't know if it's something about women, we just like to travel in groups," she said. "Maybe it's a stereotype, but it seems like one friend does it and then other friends are willing to try it."
Marathon by the Sea takes place Aug. 12 to 14.