Dr Irene Molina-Gonzalez - Running Beyond Burnout and Finding a New Purpose

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Dr Irene Molina-Gonzalez - Running Beyond Burnout and Finding a New Purpose

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Irene is a sports scientist, endurance coach, and ultra-runner originally from Spain, now based in the UK. She moved to the UK in 2013 to pursue a Master's degree, intending to stay only briefly, but quickly fell in love with the country and never left. Her journey into ultra-running was entirely unplanned. She only started running consistently in 2017 during her PhD in Neuroscience, initially as a way to cope with academic stress. Distances gradually increased, and without even realising ultramarathons existed, she found herself constantly curious about how far she could go. Once she ran beyond 21 km, something clicked—and she never looked back. Running became both a coping mechanism and, at times, a source of imbalance. A combination of PhD stress, under-fuelling, disordered eating, and overtraining led to injury after her first ultramarathon in 2021. While challenging, that injury marked a turning point. Although her academic career appeared highly successful from the outside, Irene was experiencing severe burnout and quietly drifting away from neuroscience. In January 2023, she left academia altogether after a period of profound burnout. Ultra-running remained a constant during this time and ultimately helped her rebuild. By then, she had already completed coaching and sports rehabilitation qualifications, and the transition into applied sport felt natural. She founded Train4BodyMind, combining science, performance, and a more holistic approach to endurance sport. Later that year, Irene began a second MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine, while simultaneously building her coaching business and working in a physiotherapy clinic. Throughout this journey, she became increasingly aware of a major gap in sports science: the lack of research and evidence-based guidance for women. While searching for answers about her own body, she realised how little research existed on female endurance athletes—particularly in ultra-running. This led her to investigate how the menstrual cycle affects performance in female ultrarunners, an area that had been largely overlooked despite the extreme demands of the sport. Today, Irene is passionate about supporting women in endurance sports through evidence-based coaching and education. She is particularly focused on countering the widespread misinformation surrounding women's physiology and rigid cycle-based rules, which often create fear rather than empowerment. Her work aims to help women understand their bodies better, train with confidence, and use their physiology as a strength rather than a limitation. *** New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries. Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Your support makes a difference. Thank you x *** Show notes Originally from Spain, now living in Edinburgh, Scotland in the UKWorking as a running coach for women, specialising in ultra marathons Being a sports scientistic and science nerd Her early years growing up in SpainDeveloping an eating disorder and spending time in hospital Not being able to get involved in sports Getting into running when she moved to the UKStarting her Neuroscience PhD in 2017Wanting to do an ultra marathon Becoming addicted to the ultra distances Experiencing burnout Deciding to do a shift in her career and move into coaching Getting into running to be able to disconnect Being an ultra runner before she knew about ultra marathons Using running to help manage stressNot fuelling enough during running and dealing with niggles and injuries Being very alone and not having support around herGetting injured and having to stop running The turning point in her lifeWorking with a physiotherapist Starting to study coaching ultra marathons Losing the attachment with her career and starting a different path Leaving academia, her job and becoming unemployed at 33 years old Learning how to coach herself Going deep into the science of ultra runningStudying for her masters in Sports Science Researching into the menstrual cycle and ultra runnersWhy the menstrual cycle is a health markerDr Stacy Simms - Tough Girl Podcast episode Coaching women on an individual basisThe importance of educating women about periods and menstruationRacing in Snowdonia Ultra Trail Snowdonia (UTS) Getting the balance right with training and workBeing organised and the importance of knowing what you are doingDoing strength training and why it's non negotiable for a runnerBreaking down the training into different phases and periods The final phase and tapering Making training work for herVisualising what can go wrong and right ...

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