Ask For Support If You Have Red-S

IN PART TWO OF HER SERIES, JESSICA PIASECKI TELLS HER OWN STORY OF PROBLEMS LINKED TO RED-S

- Jessica Piasecki

AS AN athlete I have experienced a significant number of issues related to RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) and the female athlete traid. I have learnt a lot, however it is now perhaps a little too late, so I am attempting to educate as many young aspiring athletes as I can on this important topic using my own experiences as reference.

I have a website (runscience. co.uk) where I provide programmes tailored to peoples’ needs. These are conducted in ways that not only ensure results but also address all the surrounding topics. I am also available for presentations and have started to do some locally where I talk to athletics clubs and speak on endurance camps. Unfortunately, there has been little response from the sport’s governing bodies, so I have taken it upon myself to educate and raise awareness as best I can.

My story ... As a youngster I did every sport going, I was competitive and I enjoyed the social side of it all, too. I was a fairly good all-rounder and through my early teens I really wanted to be the next best thing on the England hockey team. However, among all the hockey games, I managed to get a spot on the Greater Manchester schools cross-country team in 2004 and at the English Schools I surprisingly finished 23rd.

After this a fellow team and school-mate’s parent spotted my improvement and encouraged me to go down to the local club – Stockport Harriers. From there I gained an insight into training and was coached by Dave Turnbull, where I was introduced to many different aspects of running.

I was still juggling my hockey with running and most weekends would involve two hockey matches, one hill session, one long run and a hockey skills session, as well as the occasional game of tennis thrown in, too.