01
Racing on Your Period
What changes, what does not, and how to race it well.
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02
Eat Enough: Energy Availability for Female Runners
Why many active women are under-fuelled, not under-trained.
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03
What Your Heart Rate Is Actually Telling You
Read effort and recovery properly, hormones and all.
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04
Oestrogen and Your Joints
Stiffer knees and hips in your forties may be hormonal, not just the mileage.
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05
Running Through Perimenopause: How to Train, Fuel and Recover
Evidence-informed guidance on training, strength, fuelling and recovery through perimenopause without giving up meaningful goals.
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06
Your Cycle Is Data, Not a Training Calendar
Track energy and effort across your cycle instead of guessing at ‘off’ days.
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07
Hormonal Contraception and the Athlete Inside It.
What hormonal contraception does, and does not, change about how you train and race.
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08
Sleep, Hormones and Athletic Performance in Women
Why sleep debt hits female physiology harder, and how to protect it through a training block.
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09
You are Not Declining. You are Adapting.
Menopause changes the terrain. It does not mean your best running is behind you.
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10
Running on Empty. Iron, Ferritin and the Fatigue That Does Not Budge.
The fatigue that rest alone will not fix, and what to check before you push through it.
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11
Strong Bones for the Long Run: A Guide for Female Trail Runners
Members only note.
12
Fuelling Through Your Cycle and Menopause
Members only note.
13
Perimenopause Is Your Second Puberty
Members only note.
14
Running Hotter. Heat, Hydration and Your Hormones.
Members only note.
15
Women, Hormones and the Ultra Long Run
Members only note.
16
Stronger Does Not Mean More: The Recovery Dose Women Need in Perimenopause
Members only note.
17
Sustainable Endurance: How We As Women Should Seek to Evolve Into Longevity
Samantha Gash on why the formula that builds ambitious women in their twenties can break down in midlife, and a framework for capacity that lasts.
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18
How to Test Your Sweat Rate (and Why Hydration Changes Across Your Cycle)
A step-by-step sweat-rate test, plus how hydration and heat tolerance shift across your cycle and through perimenopause.
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19
Health Markers Come First: The Foundation Under Every Distance
No distance goal sits above your health. When your cycle, iron or bones send signals, that is the work that comes first.
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20
How to use your Her Trails program across every life stage
This guide shows you how to shape your weekend long runs around your age, hormones and life load so your training stays sustainable through every stage.
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Common questions
Should I change my training based on my menstrual cycle?
Track it, don't rigidly schedule around it. Across women, cycle phase shows no consistent effect on performance — so use your own symptoms, energy and sleep as the guide rather than a fixed phase-by-phase plan.
Why is my heart rate higher some weeks?
Resting and easy-run heart rate often drifts up in the luteal phase (after ovulation), and with heat, poor sleep or under-fuelling. Read it alongside effort and recovery, not on its own.
Does my cycle change how I should fuel and hydrate?
It can. Many women need more carbohydrate and sodium in the luteal phase, and heat tolerance and sweat rate shift across the cycle too. Small, tracked adjustments beat guesswork.
Is a missing or irregular period normal when training hard?
It's common, but it isn't a sign of fitness — it's often an early warning of low energy availability (under-fuelling). It's worth taking seriously and investigating rather than ignoring.
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Cycle-Aware Quick Start
The practical version of these notes. Learn the five dials that shift across your cycle, plan one week around your own energy and sleep, choose a session that fits how you feel, then reflect. Short enough to read before a run.
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