There has been a significant rise in women’s participation in long-distance running over the past decade.
From students to homemakers, and professionals to veterans, they have been the trailblazers of Bangladeshi running scenes.
From 5km to 200km ultra, women have done it all both locally and internationally, inspiring fellow runners and aspirants.
Long-distance running commonly refers to footraces above 3,000 meters to 10,000, 20,000, and 30,000 meters and ending with the marathon, which is 42,195 meters (around 42 kilometers/26 miles).
It also includes cross-country races over similar distances.
The Great Bangladesh Run claimed to have organized the first cross-country ultra-running event in Bangladesh to make people aware of a healthy life.
No endurance sport without community
BDRunners changed the running scene in Bangladesh. This community alongside BDCyclists were both founded in 2011.
However, the BDRunners community run was not regular until 2016.
Until the COVID-19 pandemic, BDRunners used to have two community runs a month on the first Friday and third Saturday.
Initially, the admin and moderators built huge repositories of videos and documents for the freshers; there have been podcasts and regular awareness posts.
In collaboration with Run Lords, they organized the First Dhaka Half Marathon in 2018 and continued till 2021.
In the last physical run, there were more than 2,000 participants, among which 600-plus were women both in the Half marathon and 7.5K run.
They brought the international standard and introduced pacing and running camps with pacers/coaches before the event in community runs.
BDRunners has been working tirelessly to create an enabling space for women and encourages families and communities to run together.
They have women in admin and moderation panels as well as pacers. Soon, this culture spread like wildfire.
In Dhaka, the birth of Ramna Runners, Chandrima Runners, Mirpur Runners, Bashundhara Runners, Team Agargaon, Uttara Runners, Dhaka University Runners, Gazipur Runners, and Sylhet Runners was seen.
Outside the capital too, there are now running communities in many districts with a lot of women members.
In the initial events though, only a handful of women participated.
“When we started The Great Bangladesh Run in 2017, the number of female runners was less than 10. It increased gradually. Now, there are more than 200 active runners,” eminent triathlete Mohammad Shamsuzzaman Arafat told Dhaka Tribune.
Arafat was one of the key organizers of The Great Bangladesh Run.
‘Legend’ Eti shows the way
Sifat Fahmida Eti was one of the runners of The Great Bangladesh Run 2017.
Relentless and one of the pioneers in ultra-marathon running, she has accomplished many milestones in distance-running both at home and abroad.
This week, she became the first Bangladeshi woman to complete a 200km ultra-marathon at the Coastal Ultra 2023 in Cox’s Bazar.
In January 2020, Travelers of Bangladesh organized the country’s first-ever 100-mile (161km) marathon at the Marine Drive road, Cox’s Bazar.
A total of 96 runners took part in various categories - 50km, 100km, and 100 miles.
Ten runners including a single woman enrolled for the 100km category, among them seven joined the race and only four managed to finish, and Eti was one of them. She finished second in 16 hours and 44 minutes.
The case of Eti demonstrates the potential extent of progress if the journey continues. However, for many individuals, it concluded after one or two races.
The country’s first women’s marathon, titled the Dhaka Women’s Marathon, took place in August 2016.
According to the organizers, a total of 289 runners, including university students and professionals, participated. It was a 10km run that started and ended at the Teacher-Student Centre of the University of Dhaka.
Fast forward to 2024, around 550 participants, including foreigners, signed up for the 10K. Sumi Akter emerged first, taking 48 minutes and 22 seconds, followed by Mirona Khatun and Srity Akter.
Like many others, Sumi and Srity did not participate in the Dhaka Women’s Marathon in 2017, as Mirona finished first.
Dhaka Women’s Marathon 2017 was the first long-distance running event for Eti, where she clinched fifth spot.
The 4th Dhaka Women’s Marathon held in 2019 saw the number of participants increase to 467, and 136 runners completed the course.
The challenges
The number of female runners is increasing every year but compared to male runners, it is still behind, as the stats showed in big events.
In a patriarchal society, creating a niche for women in marathons is hard; it also needs time and effort.
Rezoana Parvin Borsha, the sports and fitness instructor at Brac University, identified two key challenges for women: “Safety and finance”.
Noshin Sarmili Shuchi, an endurance athlete, echoed Borsha, saying: “It is challenging for women to run in Bangladesh. The conservative environment at home and outside and the negative attitude towards women are the main deterrents for women who want to train in the marathon."
Chaitrow, an HR professional, pointed to not having a supportive partner or the family as the biggest challenge.
Labonyo, a homemaker, added: “Managing multiple roles can be exhausting, especially household chores and childcare”.
Most runners talked about community support when asked how they overcame the challenges.
Nusrat Jerin Mimma is a project manager who started running in the 2023 Women’s Marathon.
She stated that time constraint was one of the challenges but expressed gratitude to her Bashundhara Running community for helping her stay in a routine.
Umme Honey Jhuma, member of the Mirpur Runners community, said: “Only staying positive and training according to one’s own ability can help us combat these challenges.”
Labonyo also emphasized: “Running not only allows some personal space but it brings the family closer and builds a healthy habit for everyone.”
“There are around 20-30% newcomers in every event, including women. Recently, it has spread beyond Dhaka,” Joel, the director of Bangla Marathon, told Dhaka Tribune.
Endurance running has evolved into a meaningful activity for many families and friends, facilitated by numerous community-run events.
Boost for women in Bangladeshi running scenes
New professional organizations such as Run Bangla and Run Bangladesh have ensured significant women's representation in their branding and pacing efforts.
Notably, the 2024 Run Bangladesh Dhaka 25K event featured an all-female squad of pacers for the 10K run to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Sajnan and Moreum, the founder of Run Bangladesh, have been instrumental in promoting inclusivity.
Moreum recalls: “In my first event, I faced harsh criticism because I was a woman. I welcomed the feedback and endeavored to create a space for everyone, especially women.”
Orkatul Jannat, the visionary behind the Sylhet Half Marathon, is recognized as one of the most successful and innovative organizers.
She has paved the way for many female runners and event organizers.
Furthermore, Rajeeb Hossain, the key organizer of Run Bangla and member of the BDRunners, has upheld the ethos of being women and family-friendly.
The recent Jolshiri Run Bangla Half Marathon, Bangladesh Olympic Association Half Marathon, Dhaka International Marathon, and Kids Run (in collaboration with Mirpur Runners) are testaments to these efforts.
Seuty Sabur, an activist, academic, and endurance athlete, states: “We started with no structure and learned everything through practical experience, whether it was our own training or organizing running camps.”
She began her journey in endurance running with the Dhaka Women’s Marathon in 2017 and later became the champion in both the Brac Bank Run and Dhaka Half Marathon in 2018.
Dr. Sabur is also an administrator and moderator of BDRunners, a community that boasts 33,000 members.
For her, managing the running community is a full-time and often thankless job.
She explains: “We are constantly dealing with bullies and online harassers. Issues such as commenting on women’s attire and stalking are rampant, which discourages many women. However, women also find inspiration from fellow runners and their achievements.”
Additionally, Dr. Sabur is the founder of "Rokeya Run," a collaborative initiative between Bangladesh Mahila Parishad and BDRunners to advocate for equal rights on the streets.
Many of these women found their respective community and are travelling all over Bangladesh and abroad for running.
Noshin, Jhuma, Eti, Parul Das, Nazneen Sultana, Mariya Akter, Kaniz Fatema Chanda, Nasrin and Seuty have left their mark in the terrains of Ladakh, Aravalli, to Mumbai, Meghalaya, Malaysia, Sydney, Dubai and Singapore.
The journey of Ferdousi Akter Mariya particularly is one of inspiration.
In October last year, Mariya became the first Bangladeshi woman to conquer 70.3 Ironman race in her first attempt at the age of only 19.
The day Mariya turned 20, she completed 100K ultra-running at the Marine Drive road of Cox’s Bazar sea beach where Eti made it to 200K ultra.
In a facebook post after achieving the feat the proud girl stated: “Overcoming all obstacles, there is a long way to go.”
Obstacles have indeed been there for women in endurance sports.
But the examples of Eti, Mariya and many Bangladeshi runners also showed a message that there are ways for women to make a name for themselves through sheer dedication and passion.
Women faster than men above 195 miles!
Female ultra-runners are faster than their male counterparts at distances over 195 miles, according to a study by RunRepeat in collaboration with the International Association of Ultrarunners.
The longer the distance, the shorter the gender pace gap.
In 5Ks, men run 17.9% faster than women, at marathon distance the difference is just 11.1%, 100-mile races see the difference shrink to just .25%, and above 195 miles, women are actually 0.6% faster than men.
The study, reported in 2020, suggests that at some of the very longest distances that people run, women tend to outperform men on a minute-per-mile basis.
The reason why women might have a slight performance advantage in super-long running races likely boils down to differences in two key hormone levels between sexes.
The study, conducted by running shoe review site RunRepeat in collaboration with IAU, looked at the race results of 5,010,730 ultramarathoners, those ambitious distance runners who continue well beyond the 26.2-mile confines of a regular-length marathon.
It examined an enormous set of finishers' results, spanning 15,541 different ultra races conducted between 1996 and 2018 and accounting for over 85% of all ultrarunning events worldwide.
The authors found that when people race beyond 195 miles, the average pace of a woman is slightly faster than the average pace of a man, at 17:19 min/mile for women, and 17:25 min/mile for men.
"The difference is quite small, but it's still relevant," said exercise scientist David Rowlands from Massey University, who was not involved in this study.
"A 0.6% difference in time is substantial, over a 195-mile race."
The finding is not a complete surprise to exercise scientists or endurance athletes like Rowlands (himself an elite cyclist), who know that as endurance races get longer, the gap between top women's and men's finishing times shrinks.
But it is still "exciting," he said, to see that there's a point at which women begin to "outperform" men.