Harvard Grad, Kiran Gandhi, has been training for the 26.2 mile London Marathon for a year. She ran the marathon to raise money for breast cancer research, she never intended to do anything more than that. The night before the race she started her period. Considering her options, she decided she didn’t want to worry about feminine products during the race so she would freely flow and leave the tampons at home.
For Kiran it became an opportunity to make a point about how our periods are something society thinks should never be spoken about, and that there are women all over the world with no access to tampons or pads. Like girls in Uganda who miss approximately 11% of their school year because of their periods.
I ran with blood dripping down my legs for sisters who don’t have access to tampons and sisters who, despite cramping and pain, hide it away and pretend like it doesn’t exist. I ran to say, it does exist, and we overcome it every day.
Kiran documented her journey, with her words and photos, as a marathon runner, and her experience running sans tampons on her blog.
Kiran says that during the run she encountered another runner who ran by her making a disgusted facing and pointing out that she was on her period. Her response dripped with the sarcasm that moment deserved: “I was like… wow, I had NO idea!”. Considering that most marathons see runners wiping away diarrhea along the course (which many get from the nerves of the event), it is saddening to see that a little period blood would be so offensive to the other participants.
