One common misconception that misleads both men and women in many aspects of dating and relationships is forgetting the simple fact that men and women are not alike. We are built differently, we think and feel in many ways differently, and we are also attracted to fundamentally different things in the opposite sex. What impresses women in men, is hardly impressive to men, when they see the same quality in women. A classic example is a luxury car. It would make the guy look more attractive to at least some women, but Mercedes or BMW doesn’t make a woman any hotter or otherwise more desirable. 
In the world of online dating profiles, the most obvious example of this is how differently men and women perceive athletic photos of the opposite sex. Women may find an athletic guy, whose photos show that his is an advanced runner, rock climber, or weight lifter to be very attractive (especially those women who are fed up with dating out of shape couch potatoes). On the other hand, most guys are not impressed by the same qualities in women. In fact, men usually find overly athletic to be too masculine and sexually not appealing. An overly muscular woman, who looks and who has a lifestyle of a world-class athlete will be desirable to very few men, and not only because she looks more manly and thus less sexually attractive, but also because the guys will assume that she has an extremely strict lifestyle and that she is completely obsessed with what she eats, drinks and lives a boot camp like lifestyle. Even male athletes prefer to date women who are “softer”, more feminine, and who are more voluptuous. 
Six-pack abs, defined biceps, and a marathon completion certificates are all impressive accomplishments that many women can and should be proud of, but they are not turn-ons to men. Therefore, there is no reason to post your athletic photos on your dating profile. You will have plenty of opportunities to share your accomplishments and impress the right guy with your endurance later. You don’t need to advertise it on your profile. The three pictures in this posting are all real pictures from OkCupid, which only took me five minutes to find, and they do not need to be posted as they are not flattering.
I prefer athletic women myself, so I wouldn't have a problem with a woman having photos of herself running or participating in some type of sport if the woman really is athletic. When I used to do some online dating I found that some women would imply that they ran a lot or did sports, but when we met up they were much fatter than I thought they would be.
I guess it depends a lot on what type of guy those girls are dealing with. Between the couch poatoes, the fitness fanatics and everyone in between, they will all have a different impression and appreciation for those types of girls.
I politely and respectfully disagree.
If a woman is very much into athletics and takes pride in it, she should share that side of her.
1. The guys that prefer an athletic looking woman with an athletic lifestyle will respond much more positively.
2. It will specifically weed out men who aren’t attracted to these types of women, saving both him and her time. If a guy wouldn’t be accepting of it in a photo, why real life?
But I agree, there is a such thing as excess. If she has several pictures like that, yeah, I understand. But 1 is harmless.