See Jane Realize She Can Run Circles Around You

When it comes to men, most women just don’t try—try, that is, to be as good as them in sports. After examining several running competitions, the New York Times discovered that while men slow as they age, older women were seemingly doing laps around their younger counterparts. One expert says younger women can be embarrassed to act like athletes.

Women “are almost afraid to be serious,” she explained. Sports ads promoting a "run easy" mentality don’t help, because they often encourage women to “sneer at hard work.” Older women, a trainer concludes, may be faster because they, for the first time, are pushing themselves to their limits and discovering exactly how much they're capable of. (More women stories.)