Strength to keep running - Training through the menopause

For sports educator Irene Clarke, digging deep into research around menopausal athletes and offering a tailored programme to suit specific needs came about by chance.

The West Waterford AC athlete began coaching a large group for the 2016 Dublin marathon, when a pattern quickly emerged.

The majority of the men, and younger females in her group were progressing through the programme, but women from their mid-40s on were having more difficulties.

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"They weren't responding in the same way," she told the RTÉ Running Podcast.

The symptoms ranged from increased fatigue, lack of sleep, joint aches, increased need of recovery time and greater susceptibility to injury. There were also instances of low level anxiety and mood issues which impacted on training.

Clarke decided to immerse herself in menopause education, learning more around nutrition, recovery and training for menopausal women.

The upshot is a pilot programme, in conjunction with Athletics Ireland, a workshop for women on how best to train midlife, that is being rolled out country wide.

The need for such a programme is laid bare by numbers.

For the Dublin marathon last year, just 23% of runners aged 45 and over were female. In shorter distances, such as 5km, the dropout rate isn't as stark, but from there up it is significant.

"As you get older, sometimes by just turning up you win a prize," Clarke observes, adding that up to 30% of mid-life women will either drop out, or reduce their exercise time.

"If we (mid-life women)