Paula Radcliffe expressed that experiencing perimenopause made finishing the Tokyo Marathon even much ‘sweeter’.
The 51-year-old athlete completed the Tokyo Marathon in under three hours, marking her first marathon since retiring in 2015 at the age of 40. Her performance highlighted her strength and determination, even after being away from competitive racing for years.
In a social media post, she shared: “Survived it and managed to smile – that about sums it up! Huge thank you to @tokyomarathon for having me and to all the support on the course runners and crowd and volunteers. Also to everyone for the lovely messages. Smiles definitely hid the pain as I couldn’t put weight on my foot afterwards and spent at least half the race regretting setting this goal. But I finished it and now need to rehab it enough to try for that six star. Congratulations to all those who did it in Tokyo. 🙌🙌🙌”
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She admitted that the physical and emotional challenges she had faced during this period made the accomplishment feel more significant, adding a deeper sense of fulfilment to her achievement. Also, Radcliffe, known for her resilience throughout her career, noted how this personal milestone added a new memorable meaning to her marathon completion.
With this, Radcliffe expressed: “It’s very different. Not only the effects of perimenopause and managing the fatigue and fluctuations that come with that, energy and muscle recovery-wise. When the children were smaller, it was a little bit easier. There are lots of things to juggle now and it’s no longer my career, now it’s a hobby like lots of people.”
She added, “I really take my hat off to everyone who juggles the training with a career, and family life around that, because it’s a different way – but it makes the achievement when you cross that finish line a little bit sweeter.”
Radcliffe, who gave birth to her first child in 2007 and her second in 2010, is now aiming to complete the six major marathons by running in Boston next month. More so, throughout her career, she ran in the London, New York, Chicago, and Berlin marathons before taking part in Tokyo.
Perimenopause typically begins a few years before menopause and can cause symptoms such as hot flashes, heavy bleeding, and heart palpitations. These are natural changes as a woman transitions to menopause.