Male fear of getting chicked

[allie]

I am currently taking an Organizational Behavior class and my professor presented a study to us today that I found very interesting, although not surprising...

The study was about gender differences and male/female behavior in competition. They took an X number of 10-year-old boys and girls and had them run a 100M dash in three different situations: 1) alone against the clock; 2) against competition of the same gender; and 3) against competition of the opposite gender.

Results:

Girls:
1. speed x
2. slightly faster than speed x with other female competition
3. same speed against male competition as with female competition

Boys:
1. speed x
2. faster than speed x in competition with other boys
3. even faster when in competition with girls

So the boys ran faster against the girls than against other boys. I am just curious if adults would behave in the same way if put in this situation. I obviously will never understand the feeling of getting chicked, but what about it makes it so undesirable? Is it that bad? Is it similar to the feeling of losing a race, but more intensified? Or is it really not that big of a deal to most males? Spill.

[Eric Day]

Allie, you should read Sasha's post's on getting chicked....

I don't mind, I get chicked all the time in races. Lots of good running women out there.

[Sasha Pachev]

Yes, most definitely. I've had a few experiences when the fear of getting chicked got me to find something I did not know was there.

[bencrozier]

I think it really depends on the phase of life you are in and what the expectation you have of yourself.  For example, boys in Junior high are really concerned about being "cool" and being accepted.  I think every 12 year old boy still wants to be part of the "in crowd".  By the time most of us are in High School and especially in college we already have a good idea of where we are in the pecking order of life and have learned to deal with our shortcoming or disadvantages as well as our advantages.  As a runner, if you are used to being at the front of the pack, getting "chicked" can seem pretty hard to accept when you know that shouldn't happen.  If you are further back in the pack you get pretty used to it, just like you get used to not sitting with the "in crowd" when you are in High School.

[Dallen]

I think it's all relative. In my case getting chicked usually means that I ran a bad race. In local races I usually should beat all the girls so getting pased by one is depressinbg, but I won't ever try to beat someone just because they are a girl. Somehow it seems like having to outsprint a girl is more embarassing than getting beaten by one.

On the other hand, I "only" got chicked x 14 at the Chicago marathon last year which is rather respectable. Getting passed by those girls was an honor.

[Steve P]

I remember my first day of practice in high school x-country. I tried to run with the girls in practice and got beat badly. They were nice about it, of course. In my first meet, I ran 21:00 for three miles. My female friend the same age ran 19:30. I determined then and there that I was going to run faster than her and eventually all the girls (which happened). I think it was just an expectation that I had in my mind...boys were always better than girls in sports.

There's another gal I ran with in high school that can beat me now easily, even though I was better in high school. I shouldn't admit this publicly, but part of me wants to show that I can get good enough to beat her again. If I beat her before, why not now? But then, I would feel the same way if it were a guy that I ran with in high school.

I'll admit that I would still like to beat all the girls though, including Paula Radcliffe. 

[Dustin Ence]

If you can't beat 'em then join them.  I've had a few races when I've really been feeling bad but have tried to continue pushing to help some of the women leaders.  While most local races l finish ahead of the winning female runner, I don't get overly concerned if a female runner is running with me.  I feel more embarrassed when I get passed by the guy twice my age wearing basketball shorts.

[jtshad]

When I was running the Twin Cities Marathon last year, I was pacing with Mary Akor and Kristen Fryberg (2 top American marathoners) for about 10 miles and thought it was an honor.  I ended up finishing ahead of Kristen and behind Mary and was happy with my performance.  When I am racing, I am racing my own expectations not necessarily other runners, but I can use them as motivation late in a race (whether they are men or women).  If a women puts in the training and work and has the talent to run faster than me, that is great and they deserve the results they achieve.

[Jon Allen]

If I am racing and get passed by someone or am about to pass someone, I will definitely notice if it is a girl rather than a guy.  But, I don't think I work any harder if it is a girl- I got chicked at most of the Striders races this year, and at DesNews, which is probably the first time I've been chicked in a few years.  But that didn't make me work any harder than at the end of TOU 1/2 this year when I was trying to pass Albert Wint with a mile to go.  I just don't like to get passed at all.

That being said, even if I gave it my all, I would rather get beat by 3 guys than by 2 guys and a girl.  More of a pride thing, I guess.  I definitely can't disagree with the study.

[Matthew Rowley]

I have to be honest and say that I don't like getting beat by a girl.  Does it make me run faster sometimes.  I think this comes from a social norm.  In high school if you take second in a race your team will be excitted, but if the person that beats you was a girl you get teased.  Did your time change no, but you go from a hero to zero just from the gender of the runner. 
In my first marathon I was struggling to finish the last mile and two girls passed me.  An old man cheering runners on says don't let two girls pass you.  I didn't care who they were as long as I was still moving toward the finish line.  My response to the old man was they are not girls they are just runners.  I was thinking a few other things but I will keep it clean.

[Sasha Pachev]

It is an odd feeling to find a girl around you in a race. On one hand you want to be a gentleman and help her run better. On the other hand, you do not want to get chicked. It is embarrassing when you do not have the juice to move forward and block the wind for her and especially when she just plain drops you.

Finishing just ahead of the first woman in a big race is an interesting experience. You are being treated as a nuisance. Perhaps for a good reason.  If you are a man, you should do better and be further ahead!

Overall, having to worry about women is a humbling experience and is very motivating to find what you need to do in your training so this will not happen again - at least with the same caliber of women.

[TODD KELLY]

I also get chicked all the time, Thats ok I am fine with it.  Great runners out there. 

[Scott Hughes]

I have no problem getting 'chicked'. That because I have accepted the fact that I am new to running and there are many women out there that are by far better runners than I am. I did get some of that feeling last week running the Alta Peruvian 8k. I wasn't feeling very good and had a poor race. With about a mile to go 5 women passed by me. I have to admit that gave me some motivation to push harder. I ended up passing all 5 of them. Then I noticed a women ahead of me that had been running a very steady paced race. I pushed harder and caught her but was the gentleman and let her cross the finish line just ahead of me. I could have passed but she had run the better race and deserved to not get 'maled'.

[Burt McCumber]

I took great pride in high school knowing that I could run faster than any chick in the state.  But now I know I'm slow, and I don't care, especially if they have nice legs.

[Roger Barrette]

I got chicked in one of my first road races after returning to running 3 years ago.  My wife had pushed me to start running again after I'd gained some significant weight from a sedentary job, and lack of activity.  Not to mention the hour commute that was conducive to snacking. The 'chicking' occured in my second road race that year.  Although there were many women who bested me that day, it was one particular female that I had gone to highschool with that drew my ire.  Upon waddling across the finish line, my wife informed me that my former classmate was top finisher for women.  When I found her to congratulate her, she responded; completely serious, "oh, did you run the race?".  Standing there sweating, with my bib still attached, I wasn't sure how to respond,.. but she might as well have kicked me in the shins.  That incident motivated me to focus on my training and the races.  For the rest of the year I chased her down at every race, but always came up short.  However, it was enough to keep me motivated through winter, and at the first race of the next season (32lbs lighter), I finally edged her out.  Since then I've moved on to new goals, and have entered the world of triathlons and marathons, with my first full Ironman on the calendar for next July.  I do owe her a debt of gratitude for motivating me more than anything else to become a more serious athlete.  We see each other at the races and usually will chat nowadays.  She is a great runner, and was an even better nemesis for a period of time.