Note: I’m a man — and mostly a stupid man at that — so I’m doing my best to write about something I’ll never personally experience. Be nice to me.

For decades, most performance gear has been designed with men in mind. Apparel followed similar patterns, and training plans largely ignored hormonal fluctuations until wearables began introducing cycle tracking. While the industry has made progress, women’s health in fitness and the endurance world has largely been an afterthought instead of a starting point.

As a male athlete and coach who works with a lot of women, I’ll be the first to admit we don’t fully understand what women manage month to month. I do appreciate that platforms like TrainingPeaks now include menstrual cycles in their calendars because it opens the door to more honest conversations with female athletes. For a long time, menstruation felt taboo.

But we can all agree on this: it can’t be fun lining up for a long run, race, or key workout while worrying about your period.

And that’s what makes the news that crossed our desk interesting.

KIPRUN and SMOON, a French pioneer in seamless menstrual underwear — have unveiled the All-in-one Menstrual Short Run 900, a pair of true performance running shorts with absorbent menstrual protection built directly into the garment.

Not layered or bulky. Not something you add underneath and hope holds up. Actually integrated.

On paper it sounds simple, almost like: why hasn’t this existed before? But in reality it represents a meaningful step.

The shorts replace the traditional inner brief with a thermobonded, seamless absorbent layer developed by SMOON. The protection is designed to absorb the equivalent of two regular tampons without dampness, odor, or leaks, and provides up to 12 hours of coverage.

That matters because more than 80% of women report their period makes training uncomfortable, and over half have skipped workouts because of it.

In fitness and endurance, consistency builds results so it has to be frustrating knowing that once a month you might miss training days simply because your body is working through something unavoidable.

The shorts themselves are lightweight — 116 grams (size medium) — and built off KIPRUN’s Run 900 Light platform, meaning they’re short-cut, breathable, and designed for speed. They include two pockets: an external pocket for a phone and an internal pocket for keys.

But the bigger point isn’t the pockets or the weight. It’s the mental load these could remove.

I’ve coached long enough to know training often gets adjusted around cycles. This short doesn’t “solve” women’s physiology, but it does acknowledge it.

We’ve seen women-specific brands like Hettas start rethinking footwear design from the ground up. We’ve also seen more open conversations around RED-S, hormonal health, and cycle syncing.

This move from KIPRUN and SMOON sits within that broader shift: designing performance products around women’s real bodies instead of asking women to adapt to products.

The shorts retail for €49.99 and are already available online.

We all love running because it represents freedom.

For the women reading this: does this feel like progress?