Male long-distance runners ‘better at attracting women’

Male long-distance runners are not only fitter than most — they may also find it easier to attract women, researchers have said.

People who are better at running half marathons are likely to have been exposed to high levels of the sex hormone testosterone before birth, researchers from the University of Cambridge said. This means they not only have they better cardiovascular efficiency but also a strong sex drive and high sperm count suggesting they have historically been chosen by women as more desirable mates.

Dr Danny Longman, from the university’s division of biological anthropology, said: “The observation that endurance running ability is connected to reproductive potential in men suggests that women in our hunter-gatherer past were able to observe running as a signal for a good breeding partner.”