EPISODE · Feb 24, 2026 · 45 MIN
Allison Yamamoto: A Marathoner's RED-s Recovery Story
from Women's Running Stories · host Cherie Louise Turner
To be clear, Allison’s story is not about weight loss or chasing thinness, perse, but more so about being a regimented, disciplined athlete who wanted to see what she was capable of as a runner—and who wanted to leverage her nutrition to support that pursuit. In addition, Allison was coming into running as a young adult in this time of thriving influencer culture, so this is also a story about negotiating popular narratives around nutrition and athletic performance. Narratives that often fail to clarify who they truly benefit, if anyone, and the fact that what they’re proposing can actually be harmful for some populations, like women endurance athletes. And then, there are just the garden variety persistent narratives like thinner is better: it isn’t. And, that menstrual cycle disruptions are normal: they are not. Not getting a regular period is a big red flag that something is seriously wrong. And yes, it’s very common with women athletes, but that doesn’t mean it’s normal. That sort of thinking—that losing one’s period is a normal part of being a woman athlete—just emphasizes how much we’ve normalized under-fueling for women athletes. And, we know very well now, and have for a long, long time, that under-fueling has both short-term and long-term consequences. Left unattended, under-fueling can have serious and lasting, sometimes permanent health issues, like poor bone health and fertility issues, including infertility. And in the short-term, under-fueling impacts training, recovery, and mood. You’ll hear Allison talk about these issues in her story. As she learned, you cannot fire on all cylinders when you aren’t eating enough, often enough. Through her time experiencing and then recovering from reds, Allison learned a lot. But it wasn’t easy; it never is. The whole journey had such an impact on her that she’s now focused her career on coaching and sports nutrition. Her aim is to help provide the comprehensive support she didn’t have during her recovery from reds. She has also come to a place in her running journey that is both, as she says, flexible and sustainable. Allison’s story is both cautionary and inspirational. Mentioned in this Episode Allison Yamamoto Instagram: @allisonyamamoto WRS Substack newsletter: womensrunningstories.substack.com To support WRS, please rate and review the show iTunes/Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/womens-running-stories/id1495427631 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F8Hr2RysbV4fdwNhiMAXc?si=1c5e18155b4b44fa Music Credits Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh Coma-Media, via Pixabay PaulYudin, via Pixabay Rockot, via Pixabay chillmore, via Pixabay Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories WRS Instagram: @womensrunningstories Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories Website: womensrunningstories.com
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What this episode covers
This episode features Allison Yamamoto, who tells the story of her experiences with and recovery from Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, more commonly referred to as REDS or RED-s. Allison experienced the slippery slope of doing what she thought would benefit her performance as a runner, only to discover that she’d adopted habits that were counterproductive to that goal. This is all too common in running, especially for women. REDS, in short, is the result of not fueling enough at the right times to keep up with energy output. And this leads to all sorts of health issues. Here, Allison shares her journey into running, through experiencing REDS, how she healed herself, and where this has all landed her today.
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Allison Yamamoto: A Marathoner's RED-s Recovery Story
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