Marathon madness

I can’t decide if the world has reached peak event sponsorship madness or genius following my discovery that Vaseline has been named the Official Nipple Protector of the TCS Sydney Marathon.

It certainly grabs your attention and while it sounds naughty, it’s actually tackling a very painful issue.

I was horrified many years ago to learn that ‘runner’s nipple’ was a thing, after two male friends rubbed all the skin off theirs in marathons. 

Ewwwwwww, nooooo! Bloody t-shirts!

Mind you, breast feeding was a similar horror story for me, so there may be a bit of PTSD involved.

More than 40,000 participants are preparing to take part in the TCS Sydney Marathon later this month and new research from Vaseline has revealed 92% of marathon participants experience chafing on the course, with 67% saying it has led to bleeding.

Among the most prevalent and visible areas is nipple chafing, experienced by 1 in 3 marathon goers.

As the Official Nipple Protector of the TCS Sydney Marathon, Vaseline will be available on the course, providing “Nip stops” to help participants stay protected throughout the 42.195-kilometre challenge.

Phew, glad to hear it. Blimey, 42km is a looong way to run.

Reading about the upcoming Sydney Marathon reminded me of the story of Kathrine Switzer, who registered for the Boston Marathon in 1967 as ‘K. V. Switzer’ because women weren’t allowed to enter.

After the race began, the director realized Switzer was a woman and attempted to forcibly remove her. 

However, she dodged him and completed the course. 

Thanks to the efforts of Switzer and others, women were finally allowed the enter road races in 1971. Bloody hell, the Seventies, it blows my mind that such ridiculousness continued until then. 

Actually, no, it went on for much longer than that. Joan Benoit Samuelson made history on 5 August 1984 by winning the first-ever Olympic women’s marathon during the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Bloody hell, the Eighties. I feel a bit murderous after reading that. 

Fast forward to 2026 and more than a third of the field for the Sydney Marathon will be female.

I can’t imagine a more unpleasant way to spend my Sunday, with or without Vaseline, but you go girls!

Song of the day: Kate Bush “Running up that hill”