Distance Runners are Sexy, According to Science

Running is good for your health. Long distance, short distance, agility and straight line, we were built to do it. Back in the day we’d be chasing wild pigs for supper and escaping wild lions for survival, so running was important.

Most of us run these days, whether it’s in a gym or it’s on the side of the road, and we normally do it for health purposes. But as it turns out, if we’re naturally good at it, it might also prove to be a lady magnet. That’s right, good runners get the girls. In an article on Huffington Post, a new study is brought to light that suggests that our abilities in endurance running signal high reproductive potential.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge studied 532 runners (439 men and 103 women) participating in a half-marathon in Nottingham, England. First, the scientists timed how long it took the runners to complete the race. Then they photocopied their hands, and calculated their digit ratios — that is, the length of the pointer finger divided by the length of the ring finger.

What was found? Compared to the male runners with the highest digit ratios, those with the lowest — or “masculinized” — digit ratios were 24 minutes and 33 seconds faster on average.

And as it has been linked before, digit ratios relate to testosterone, sex drive, spatial awareness, and higher sperm counts.?There’s bad news, if you’re not naturally a good runner, changing that digit ratio is likely out of the question, but that doesn’t mean you should stop running, afterall there are many more benefits.