At age 42, off-road triathlete Deanna McCurdy was crushing it, including clocking the fastest female amateur time at XTERRA National Championships, and was ready to turn pro when—perimenopause. Out of the blue, her performance tanked and she found herself in tears through a key race. Deanna, who’s also a mom of a special needs daughter, was forced to rest, research, reset, and make some training and lifestyle changes. It worked and she roared back to racing as a pro by age 45, winning XTERRA Fruita and getting second at XTERRA Quebec. But those ups were followed by more hormonally-driven downs, as she became plagued by symptoms including aches and injuries, sleepless nights, and headaches earlier this year as she was preparing for Breck Epic, a six-day mountain bike stage race. With the help of hormone therapy, she got back on track and crushed the race. This week she shares that journey and how, though the path is still rocky, and training isn’t perfect, she has found the tools she needs to navigate this challenging time.

 Deanna McCurdy is a USAT Level I and USAC Level II certified coach. She is also the founder and head coach of Team Miles for Smiles-Wings to Fly Racing. Miles for Smiles is a training team created to help raise funds for the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (F.A.S.T.), a not-for-profit whose sole purpose is to fund research, and ultimately a cure for, Angelman Syndrome (AS). USA Triathlon awarded Deanna Off-road Triathlete of the Year honors in 2017, 2018, and 2021. You can learn more about her and F.A.S.T. at cureangelman.org/fast-athletes and her USA Triathlon blog.



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