Kiran Ghandi ran the London Marathon in 2015 with her period, sans the usual paraphernalia to prevent anyone ever knowing. It wasn’t pre-planned; she’d trained for a year, race day came, and it arrived unexpectedly, as they can do. Pads and tampons and period pants and menstrual cups can bring a variety of discomfort and difficulty, and in all the worrisome problem-solving she thought about all the women and girls in the world who don’t have access to sanitary products, and thought sod it, I’m just going to run.
Bar one person who told her ‘with a disgusted face’ that she had her period (as if she didn’t know), the in-person response was positive. The online trolls had a field day, of course. I was touched to see her with her bloody gusset being embraced by her dad and brother, showing my own dinosaur lineage.
I remember once seeing a woman at the rocks who had bled a bit, and wondering whether to say something. I definitely felt concern for her, which in hindsight, comes from a place of feeling periods are somehow shameful and must be kept hidden.
I’m at the tail end of the menstrual journey (thank god. I don’t want to be negative about it, and I love my son very much, but to have to go through this sometimes painful and inconvenient bleed for 5 days out of every 30 for between 3 and 4 decades is a bit crap. And I’m fed up, because the perimenopause ain’t a celebratory last lap. So I’m putting it out there, in a less visible way than Kiran, but out there nonetheless.
I just did a 30 minute run, with cramps, bleeding heavily. I wanted to lie down with a hot water bottle, but I got out there and did 30 minutes.
Nearly there.
Written by
ktsok
Graduate
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Well done you! I had extremely painful periods for 20 years before I was prescribed an effective med by a doctor who actually cared to listen. And by extremely painful I mean I had to take 1-2 days a month off school/work.
I so admire that you did a 30-minute run with a heavy period. 👏👏👏👍
You poor thing, that’s a horrible ordeal to have to anticipate/plan around/deal with every month. And I think your experience of not being taken seriously isn’t uncommon, sadly. I’m glad you finally found a solution, even if it took 20 years!
Ah, the joys of being a woman. Good on you for bringing this up, and for finding the strength to run through it.When I reached menopause several older friends told me, independently, that the only treatment that's effective is HRT. Plus it works maintaining bone density, very important for us runners.
Good luck going forward, let's hope Auntie Flo takes the hint soon and realises it's time to take her leave 😁
Yes, I’m in the HRT club. I read Davina McCall’s book and went in to my appointment primed and ready for a fight. Thankfully, I had a nice doctor who said, yup, sounds reasonable, here’s the prescription.
I’m full of admiration for this woman who ran the marathon with visible Flo. One of the marvellous things about getting a bit older is I care far less about certain things, particularly those coloured by the patriarchal filter. I do think the shame and stigma and embarrassment that a lot of girls and women experience around bleeding, that causes us to retreat and say no to things, is something we want to consign to the old days. Women aren’t objects that should only have their nice, accommodating aspects showing. The number of times I have been told (as a younger woman) by men to smile…
I shall put away my soapbox now. Thanks for the support!
That’s why they refer to it as the curse ! I’m out the other side and can’t believe we put up with it the majority of our lives and the menopause don’t get me started …..
Can you imagine if men had to go through it every month of every year for years on end! What a song and dance they would make about it. Thankfully I'm done with all of it. The menopause was a relief to m. I'm fitter now then I've ever been 👍
ktsok if men had to put up with it either (a) they'd have found a solution a long time ago or (b) they'd have 5 days a month off and brag about how bad it all was!
(Don't get me wrong, I don't hate men, I've got a lovely husband, 3 sons and 3 brothers lol)
When my middle son was told about periods at school he came home demanding to know whether it was true because it was such a stupid thing to happen 😂
(his next comment was '..and do you know where babies come out of?' which I quickly stifled by saying 'not you son, you were surgically removed like a civilised person' (c sections lol)
Thank you for sharing these stories, ktsok ! And congratulations for running 30 minutes despite cramps 🥳 And, wow! You're almost done with C25K!
I wished I had known of Dr. Jen Gunter when I was going through perimenopause, maybe my transition would've been more smoothly. I can highly recommend her "Menopause Manifesto"! drjengunter.com/the-menopau...
I had really bad heart palpitations, waking me up many nights wondering if I needed to go to the ER. Fortunately, the cardiologist who checked me out, declared my heart to be "normal", and pointed out that this could be related to hormone fluctuations... And sure enough the palps disappeared with my period...
If you want more running related advice, you can check out Dr. Juliet McGrattan. She has quite a few posts on her blog: drjulietmcgrattan.com/tag/m...
Yes, I have had some heart palpitations, very unsettling. The worst thing for me was the joint aches. They were particularly awful at night, so much so that I couldn’t sleep. Thankfully, the HRT has helped with that.
A friend and I have joked about reclaiming the term ‘crone’. A wise woman, past the menopause. Cronedom. Can’t wait 😜
I recommend it..as a very old crone..fortunately I sailed through the menopause, it was almost unnoticed. A whole new freedom followed...hope things settle for you .
It’s horrible though. When you think that as girls as young as 11, perhaps, we learn the lesson of suffering in silence, not complaining, keeping it hidden, quietly cleaning up stained bedsheets and clothes, etc - and those lessons don’t stay confined to menstruation, they filter into how we learn we must behave as girls and women, and therefore what we don’t say when we really do need to speak up. It makes me want to stand up and applaud this act.
Dr. Jen Gunter was on my fav science podcast! She's debunking a bunch of (social media) myths around menopause. Pointing out when to consider MHT (esp. when you have trouble with hot flashes or are at high risk of osteoporosis; otherwise you can try it for 3 months and then re-evaluate your symptoms). Most importantly: The menopause transition is not a disease, though it can come with lots of symptoms that can make our lives more challenging for a while.
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