Highly Trained Female Runners Show Greater Durability and Physiological Resilience Than Performance‐Matched Male Counterparts

Endurance performance determinants are typically assessed under fresh conditions, although physiological and mechanical characteristics deteriorate during prolonged exercise, a phenomenon recently termed durability or resilience. However, it is unclear whether durability and mechanisms underpinning it differ between sexes. Eleven females and 11 males matched for performance completed three laboratory visits including: a graded exercise test, a 12-min uphill time trial (TT), and a 180-min treadmill run at standardized moderate intensity, interspersed with repeated TTs every 60 min (total distance: 36 ± 3 and 42 ± 3 km, respectively). Physiological, biomechanical, and neuromuscular variables were assessed throughout the steady-state run and TTs and analyzed with linear mixed models. Time-trial performance declined during the run, with females displaying smaller speed decrements than males after 3 h (-1 vs. -10%, p < 0.01) and smaller reductions in carbohydrate oxidation and respiratory exchange ratio during steady-state (p < 0.05) and TTs (p < 0.01). Males displayed larger reductions in peak blood lactate during TTs (p < 0.001), while peak heart rate (HR) and oxygen uptake remained unchanged in both groups. During the prolonged run, females showed greater resilience for maximal isometric knee extensor force, HR, and perceived exertion (p < 0.05), whereas running economy deteriorated similarly between sexes. Biomechanical adjustments occurred in both sexes, with larger alterations observed in males for TTs (stride length; p < 0.05) and in females during steady-state (contact time and stiffness; p < 0.05). In conclusion, highly trained female runners demonstrate greater durability than performance-matched males. Sex differences are characterized by superior metabolic and neuromuscular resilience in females, whereas biomechanical changes appear similar between sexes. Finally, whether these findings persist under distance-matched conditions warrants investigation.