Barbara Hannah Grufferman: How Menopause and a (Literal) Sign Ignited a Passion for Running and Aging-Well Advocacy
04/12/21 • 31 min
1 Listener
We hear the story of Barbara Hannah Grufferman as she navigates menopause away from a glum-looking future, to a thriving today. Hear Barbara's personal journey of how she went from being a non-runner at 50 to a multi-time marathon and also ultra finisher, as well as a healthy aging advocate, author, and so much more.
As Barbara Hannah Grufferman approached her 50th birthday, she was feeling, as she describes it, the “umpies”: lumpy, grumpy, and frumpy. Her health wasn’t great: she’d spent her adult life putting the needs of everyone else ahead of herself: work, family, community. And now those choices were catching up to her. And, she’d just gone through menopause, which had had it’s own challenging impact. The spark and grit she’d had before seemed to be fading into the past.
Maybe this is what getting older and seeing the other side of menopause was all about? she thought.
And then, a pointed comment by her then young daughter and a well-timed Wall Street Journal article changed everything. Barbara, who’d never been a runner, set down a path of marathon running, health and wellness, and discovering how to age the very best she could.
Since that day, 15 years ago, Barbara has completed over a dozen marathons and one ultra, and there’s more to come. She also shares her wisdom and lived experience of achieving wellness and health after 50 with a growing number of woman in her work as an advocate for aging well. Barbara has written two books, writes a newsletter, has spoken in public on many occasions, and so much more. In a word, Barbara is vibrant.
Ways to follow Barbara Hannah Grufferman
Barbara’s website: barbarahannahgrufferman.com
Subscribe to Barbara’s Menopause Cheat Sheet
Follow Barbara on Instagram: @barbarahannahgrufferman
Follow Barbara on Twitter: @BGrufferman
The Coach Parry Running Through Menopause Training Program
The Coach Parry webinar, where we first "met" Barbara
We recommend the podcast Hear Her Sports: hearhersports.com
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Twitter: @WomenRunStories
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: [email protected]
Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We hear the story of Barbara Hannah Grufferman as she navigates menopause away from a glum-looking future, to a thriving today. Hear Barbara's personal journey of how she went from being a non-runner at 50 to a multi-time marathon and also ultra finisher, as well as a healthy aging advocate, author, and so much more.
As Barbara Hannah Grufferman approached her 50th birthday, she was feeling, as she describes it, the “umpies”: lumpy, grumpy, and frumpy. Her health wasn’t great: she’d spent her adult life putting the needs of everyone else ahead of herself: work, family, community. And now those choices were catching up to her. And, she’d just gone through menopause, which had had it’s own challenging impact. The spark and grit she’d had before seemed to be fading into the past.
Maybe this is what getting older and seeing the other side of menopause was all about? she thought.
And then, a pointed comment by her then young daughter and a well-timed Wall Street Journal article changed everything. Barbara, who’d never been a runner, set down a path of marathon running, health and wellness, and discovering how to age the very best she could.
Since that day, 15 years ago, Barbara has completed over a dozen marathons and one ultra, and there’s more to come. She also shares her wisdom and lived experience of achieving wellness and health after 50 with a growing number of woman in her work as an advocate for aging well. Barbara has written two books, writes a newsletter, has spoken in public on many occasions, and so much more. In a word, Barbara is vibrant.
Ways to follow Barbara Hannah Grufferman
Barbara’s website: barbarahannahgrufferman.com
Subscribe to Barbara’s Menopause Cheat Sheet
Follow Barbara on Instagram: @barbarahannahgrufferman
Follow Barbara on Twitter: @BGrufferman
The Coach Parry Running Through Menopause Training Program
The Coach Parry webinar, where we first "met" Barbara
We recommend the podcast Hear Her Sports: hearhersports.com
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Twitter: @WomenRunStories
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: [email protected]
Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
Sally Kipyego: Olympic Marathon Dreams Realized
Sally Kipyego is one of the fastest distance runners in the world, with a long resume of incredible performances. But, she also wanted to be a mom. This is her journey navigating pregnancy and returning to elite-level competition, just in time to compete at the historic 2020 US Women's Olympic Marathon Trials.
Sally was born in Kenya and started running at a young age. She discovered early on that she had talent and a will be seek the ultimate limits of her potential. She had early success as a junior, and when she came to the United States and ran as a member of the Texas Tech cross-country and track team, she dominated by winning total of 9 NCAA championships.
Sally turned pro after college, in 2010, and has been internationally competitive ever since. Among her many accomplishments, she placed 2nd in the 10,000 meter at the world championships in 2011 and 5th in 2015, and she won the silver medal at that distance in the 2012 London Olympics. During that time she was competing for her home country of Kenya, but in 2017, she became a US citizen. She currently calls Eugene, Oregon, home, and visits Kenya regularly.
In 2016, Sally decided the time had come to become a mom. This episode traces her experience going through pregnancy and the bumpy, uncertain journey returning to her job of elite running. And it all culminates at one epic race: the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials.
Through Sally's experiences, we learn about patience, listening to your body, and honoring the reality that every single pregnancy journey is different.
Follow Sally Kipyego on Instagram: @sallykipyego
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Twitter: @WomenRunStories
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: [email protected]
Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Next Episode
BONUS: Keeping Track Podcast: Dawn Harper Nelson's Cinderella Story
Special bonus introduction to the Keeping Track Podcast, featuring Olympic champion 100-meter hurdler Dawn Harper Nelson. Keeping Track is co-hosted by running superstars Molly Huddle, Alysia Montaño, Roisin McGettigan Dumas. Each episode, they interview outstanding women in sport. This episode is from January 2020 and gets deep with Nelson about being a two-time Olympic medalist. It's not the story you're expecting, and it's powerful.
Dawn Harper Nelson is an Olympic gold (2008) and silver (2012) medalist in the 100-meter hurdles. In this powerful and important interview, Dawn goes deep about her experiences as a Black woman athlete who also became the first American in her discipline to win a gold medal at one Olympics and then medal at the following Games.
Dawn will be making her bid for a third Olympic team at the Track and Field Olympic Trials coming up in June 2021. Another excellent women helping women tie in here is that Dawn was chosen as one of three elite athlete moms to receive support from the nonprofit &mother as she trains for the trials. &mother aims to help women thrive in their career and in motherhood, and it was founded by Keeping Track’s Alysia Montaño.
Links for This Episode
Keeping Track website: keeping-track.com
Follow Keeping Track on Instagram: @keeptrackmedia
Follow Dawn Harper Nelson on Instagram: @dharp100mh
Follow Dawn Harper Nelson on Twitter: @DHarp100mH
Dawn Harper Nelson Facebook Fanpage: facebook.com/dawnharpernelson
&mother website: andmother.org
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Twitter: @WomenRunStories
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: [email protected]
Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/womens-running-stories-180135/barbara-hannah-grufferman-how-menopause-and-a-literal-sign-ignited-a-p-15656871"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to barbara hannah grufferman: how menopause and a (literal) sign ignited a passion for running and aging-well advocacy on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy