The New Balance and Saprissa races were the most attended of the weekend: in total 4414 people crossed the finish line between both events, and there were more men than women.
Perhaps the most interesting data comes from the 10k distance of the Saprissa race. Normally (at least for now) slightly more men run than women, but the difference is usually not large. Increasingly, women have embraced athletics and today they are close to matching men in race participation. But the 10k at Saprissa, perhaps because of the football theme, broke the mold.
In total 1332 athletes crossed the finish line in the Saprissa 10k, of which 1041 were men. Almost 80% of participants! Could the football theme have influenced it? It's likely. But women held their own in the 5k of that same race: of the 1056 finishers in the 5k, 46% were women, quite a bit better.
On average men took 52:31 to run the 10k, and women 1:00:58. In the 5k men averaged 30:33 and women 34:36.
New Balance
The first edition of the New Balance Race was a success in turnout. The organizers reported 2900 athletes registered across both distances of 7.5 and 15 kilometers, although in the end only 2026 officially crossed the finish line (the others may not have shown up, ran without a chip, were disqualified, or did not finish the race). Now, if someone asked you which distance has the best average time, what would you say? It makes sense that those running only 7.5 kilometers would run faster, because it's a shorter distance. But no.
The logic that applies is that those running 15k are, one might assume, athletes with better preparation. There's a reason they're running 15k and not 7.5 km. And therefore, even though the distance they run is greater, the numbers show that on average they run each kilometer faster than the "less prepared" ones running 7.5 km (obviously this is a generalization, not correct in all cases). The average pace for women who ran 15k was 6:11 per kilometer, compared to 7:14/km that women running 7.5 km averaged. The pattern repeated in men: those running 15k averaged 5:24/km and those running 7.5 km 6:35/km.
In total, 1135 men and 891 women crossed the finish line in the first edition of the New Balance Race. You can see the complete results and rate the New Balance Race HERE, and the complete results and rating of the Saprissa Race HERE.
More data:
Average final time Saprissa 10k: 0:54:17 (5:48/km).
Average final time women 15k New Balance: 1:32:49
Average final time men 15k New Balance: 1:21:03
Average final time women 7.5 km New Balance: 0:54:21
Average final time men 7.5 km New Balance: 0:49:24
