Ask women what they enjoy about running and though their answers will vary, you will find common themes. These include escape, camaraderie, energy, staying in shape, and personal success. While women have more opportunities than ever, they also carry more responsibilities as they juggle home, career, relationships, child-rearing, and so on. Maintaining the balancing act is hard enough; often it causes a rupture in the form of divorce, injury, or empty-nest syndrome.

Running — whether alone or in groups — is a gift women give themselves, allowing a healing place where no one who isn't invited usually intrudes. As Jennifer Lin and Susan Warner reflect in an article in Training Zone Sports, “We run to escape, to relax, to hammer out life's problems to the beat of rubber soles on pavement. It is our therapy, our time to mull questions big and small.”

Women-Only Races

As the number of women runners grows, it is easier to find races for women only. Sponsors are aware that women love to run together, especially to support worthy causes. Any woman who has run in a woman-only race knows there is something especially bonding about the experience. In 2005, the 10 women's races with the largest number of finishers hosted over 40,000 runners — and that's just the top 10 races! They were:

1. The Revlon Run for Women 5K in Los Angeles, California (the fourth largest race in the United States in 2005)

2. The St. Luke's Women's Fitness Celebration 5K in Boise, Idaho

3. The Tufts Health Plan for Women 10K in Boston, Massachusetts

4. The Race for the Cure and Quad Cities 5K in Rock Island, Illinois

5. The Circle of Friends Mini 10K in New York, New York

6. The Freihofer's Run for Women 5K in Albany, New York

7. The Women's 5K Classic in Allentown, Pennsylvania

8. The Race for the Cure 5K in San Francisco, California

9. The Montana Woman's Run 2 Mile in Billings, Montana

10. The More Half-Marathon in New York, New York