This is Dr. Michael Zordos.

This is Dr. Sarah Mahoney and you're listening to the Run to the Top podcast.

Hi there, my running friend, this is Coach Claire Bartholic, the Planted Runner,

and this is the Run to the Top Podcast, one of the first and only

running podcast dedicated to making you a better runner with each and every episode.

We are created and produced by the expert team of running coaches at runnersconnect.net where you can find the best running information on the internet as well as running coaching plans to fit every runner and every budget.

The runner's body has unique requirements.

We need a precise mixture of macro and

micro nutrients to not only be healthy but also to perform our best. You probably

know that the perfect runner recipe is not going to be the same as what a weightlifter needs.

But did you know that the micronutrients that a runner needs might also be different than what other endurance athletes like cyclists and

swimmers need. In today's episode we are going to drill down on just one

critical micronutrient that is essential to humans in the right dose,

highly toxic in the wrong dose, and one that many runners are chronically deficient

in, and that is iron.

As a high impact endurance sport,

running stresses the body in a very different way

from those other endurance sports.

With each pounding of your foot on the pavement or on the trail, red blood cells are

destroyed in a process called hemolysis. Female runners are at a higher risk with one study

finding that up to 80% of female runners suffer from deficiency,

and a good portion of men are iron deficient as well.

...