I knew it!

In what I think is going to be a trend, the Marathon of the Palm Beaches has more female than male entrants. (West Palm evidently was recently named the most vain city in America in terms of plastic surgery, according to Kevin Beck; whether there is a connection isn't clear.
Jeff Galloway told me awhile back about the first and second running booms--the first consisted of the serious guys (mostly, but not all, guys) who were inspired to go out and do great things by Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers. The second, current, boom is about lifestyle runners--people who get the bug and love to race several times a month, run, get the gear, etc. but are not necessarily super-competitive. They run for the social life, not to kick your butt.
So given the conversation below about whether the men's standards are tougher than the women's, and the commonly-held belief that there are fewer "serious" female athletes than male athletes, are women responsible for the second, social running boom?