Research and information on women’s health still remains a fairly unexplored area as it relates to running and performance. Many outspoken athletes and experts are working to change that though, and are finding that simply sharing their own experiences can help others. That’s why pro ultrarunner Camille Herron decided to share some of her experiences with perimenopause—the two to 10 year period when ovaries gradually stop working—in an Instagram post this week.
Explaining what the past few months of perimenopause—months that have included world record setting performances—have been like, she said, “It was like I had my period 3 times in 5 weeks between June-July- even while taking my longtime oral contraceptive.”
Herron has been working with her doctor and dietician, and says she’s felt immensely better after discontinuing her oral contraceptive. “I’m going with the flow (literally ‼️) and focusing on feeling good and consistent most of the time,” she wrote.
Herron, who is 41, pointed out that the age that someone experiences (or doesn’t experience) perimenopause and what symptoms they do or do not experience is “all over the place and an unknown.”
“It’s like there isn’t a blueprint of when and what someone will experience and knowing what the right solution(s) are,” she wrote.
Download Your Training Plan Sasha Gollish, who is just two days younger than Herron and is competing in the 2023 World Championships marathon, has been open on social media about her experiences going through perimenopause as well, sharing in one post: “Perimenopause people can feel invisible. I know I do sometimes. There’s just no information about perimenopause let alone for sport, movement, and exercise.”
Perimenopause includes a whole range of symptoms including irregular, heavier-than-usual periods, hot flushes, sleep disruptions, dizziness, heart palpitations, and anxiety and depression. There’s unusual body aches and joint pain and sometimes hair falls out and skin becomes dry and itchy.
Until now, talking about these things has been somewhat verboten, so some female athletes end up going through it in isolation. In an interview with Women’s Running, Gollish told Erin Strout, “What makes me sad is that a lot of people suffer alone. I suffered alone for the first bit of this because I was afraid to talk about it.”
Herron’s and Gollish’s generation is one of the first to see pro women athletes continuing to compete at a high level into their 40s and beyond. Thankfully these female athletes are opening up about their experiences and contributing to research efforts that will benefit the next generation.
“There’s greater visibility, support, and open talk now about menstrual health, perimenopause, menopause, and what we’re experiencing as athletes,” Herron wrote on Instagram.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, U.S. Marathon Team Announced for World Champs, Health - Injuries, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
