RAPID CITY STEVENS

Iron

If my kids run, the first thing I will do is have their iron and ferritin checked each off-season.  If your iron/ferritin counts are low, it's going to negatively affect performance and take weeks to correct. 

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Iron deficiency (low ferritin levels) and iron deficiency anemia (low ferritin & low hemoglobin) are a major nutritional/health concerns for runners as endurance performance hinges on how well we move oxygen to muscles.  Iron is the primary component of hemoglobin (red blood cells) which transports oxygen to muscles. ​Runners are at an increased risk of iron deficiency or even anemia due to several factors, including, but not limited to: 

• the act of running (foot strike hemolysis) 

• female menstruation  ​

• sweat 

• bodily waste 

 A recent study showed that 40% of US girls are iron deficient.  Anecdotally (see Dr. Jack Daniels email), each gram low in hemoglobin (Hgb) is about 40s in a 5k.  If you're training hard and trying to do everything right, you don't want to lose 40s in a 5k because your diet is low in iron.  

 

Iron deficiency is easy to spot as coaches because we see daily workouts, race results and can look at things like historical heart rate on Garmin Clipboard to show how hard your body is working at different paces.  However, by the time we catch it and refer you to a medical professional, it's too late, and there typically isn't enough time to salvage your season.  

 

For that reason, it's good practice (especially for females, as they are at a higher risk due to menstruation) to have your bloodwork done at periodic intervals like the off-season for XC and Track.  A CBC (complete blood count) and Ferritin test can be ordered and read by a medical practitioner, sports  or through companies like LabCorp.  Athlete-specific companies like Athlete Blood Test  ​have doctors, sports nutritionists and sports dietitians that can read your test results and determine appropriate nutritional interventions.​​