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The first couple days of Diane Nukuri’s menstrual cycle are debilitating.
Vomit-inducing cramps leave her bed-ridden for two to three days at a time. If she pushes her body too hard in training during that time, she tends to get injured. At the 2019 Prague marathon, she recalls retaining so much water weight (due to fluctuations in hormones), she couldn’t fit into her uniform. Advice she has been given from friends varies from nutritional shakes to, “It might go away if you have a baby.”
The 37-year-old professional marathoner has worked hard to figure out how to train and race around her period, but even the best-laid plans backfire. In 2017, Nukuri was looking to run a fast marathon course like London, but ultimately chose to do Boston (a hillier course) based on her cycle. She calculated her period would start a week after Boston, but it came the day before the race. Her plan was foiled again at the New…
