New research has found that long-distance runners have stronger sex drives and higher sperm counts
If you’re looking for a mate, you may want to hang out at the finishing line of the next marathon event. New research from Cambridge University has found that male long-distance runners are not only fitter, but have stronger sex drives and higher sperm counts – which are all historically desirable traits in a man.
The study looked at 542 runners who finished a half-marathon. They found that those who finished fastest were more likely to have been exposed to high levels of the sex hormone testosterone before birth, which affects both their cardiovascular fitness but also their sex drive and sperm count. Interestingly, it also means that their ring finger is more likely to be longer than their index finger.
The connection between speed and finger length ratios was also found in women runners, but was more pronounced in men.
The researchers believe this study suggests females back in hunter-gatherer times may have selected mates for athletic endurance. Dr Danny Longman, from the university's division of biological anthropology, says: "The observation that endurance running ability is connected to reproductive potential in men suggests women in our hunter-gatherer past were able to observe running as a signal for a good breeding partner."