Ultrarunner and marathon runner Charlotte Gibbs shares her journey navigating relative energy deficiency in sport, commonly known as RED-s; it’s a condition that used to be known as the female athlete triad. If you aren't already familiar with RED-s, you can be now, and you’ll also understand why it’s important to be aware of, for yourself and for other athletes you may know, especially young athletes: RED-s far more common than most of us realize, and it has some awful consequences. But knowledge is power, and this is a powerful story. 

Charlotte shares her very personal journey about how her pursuit to become the best athlete she could be led her down the far too common and ultimately detrimental path to RED-s, a syndrome that happens when you don’t give the body enough of what it needs to keep up with the demands you’re putting on it. It’s a condition that happens over time and left unchecked, it will get progressively worse. The key to avoiding RED-s is to recognize early warning signs, and correct course. 

Charlotte shares her full journey back to rediscovering joy and health through running, while acknowledging the reality that this is an ongoing process. 

I am very thankful to Charlotte for sharing these personal details about her struggles with RED-s, overtraining, and restrictive eating. These topics can be tough to talk about, but these experiences happen more regularly than we recognize, and yes, awareness and knowledge are power. I thank you to Charlotte for being part of that empowerment. 

This episode is part of our series of stories focused on running in a woman’s body, where we’re focused on the topics of menopause, RED-s, and pregnancy. Each episode in this series features one runner talking about her experiences around one of these topics.

You can also listen to our first series about experiences at South African's 90km Comrades Marathon, or enjoy our episode featuring ultra superstar Courtney Dauwalter sharing her insights on problem-solving in ultras and strengthening her mental game.  

Mentioned in this episode

We recommend the podcast Hear Her Sports: hearhersports.com

ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life, by Dr. Stacy Sims and Selene Yeager

Selene Yeager

Dr. Stacy Sims

Ways to follow Charlotte Gibbs

Follow Charlotte on Instagram: @lottiee78

Follow Charlotte on Twitter: @charlottegooda7

Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories

Instagram: @womensrunningstories

Twitter: @WomenRunStories

Website: womensrunningstories.com

Email host Cherie: [email protected]

Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/

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