Women have always been portrayed as being weaker and not having as much skill as men. Those accusations have changed, and society is starting to become a little more equal.

After reading an article about the winner of the Boston Marathon, I realized the true amount of strength women have. This past marathon saw some of the most brutal temperatures and precipitation that it's had in while. Participants endured freezing temperatures and horizontal rain, but that did not stop women from continuing to run. Because of the horrendous weather, there was a very high dropout rate, but surprisingly men composed a much higher dropout percentage than women. For men, the percentage of dropout was up 80% from last year, but only 12% for women.

Women fought through the pain, and there are many different plausible reasons for this. Some people believe it was because of the perception of pain between men and women. Many of the adults running the Boston Marathon have kids, which shows that they have endured some excruciating amount of pain, and running in freezing temperatures is almost nothing for them.

I believe it is the inner strength and courage women have. Dropping out is a choice, and when running a marathon it is a very hard choice to make. After all that training and hard work, it is a difficult decision to decide to just stop and give up. But women have the courage within them to stick to it and push through the pain; essentially that is the same thing they have to do when going into labor.

It was also noted in the article that the female winner of the race, Desiree Linden, had doubts about finishing the race. It was not a perfect race day like everyone hopes for, and it was definitely far from perfect. But while Desiree Linden was helping a friend who was struggling throughout the race, she felt an increase in endorphins to finish and win the race.

Helping others makes us feel better inside because we know we are performing an act of kindness. Essentially, helping others also helps you, because it makes you feel better, which encourages you to keep going.

The marathon is an example of people pushing each other. It is an important message for both men and women to help support each other and encourage everyone to keep going. Because quitting is a decision and it can easily be changed when you have courage from within yourself as well as from others.

Women may tend to be more emotional, but it is the emotion they have inside to encourage them to keep going. They were able to fight away the pain and run with strength and emotion all the way to the finish line.