Molly Seidel second female at Speedgoat 28k today

I feel sorry for her. ADHD drama, eating disorder, irratic behaviour, pro runner racing under assumed names. It all seems a very long way from an Olympic podium finisn. I hope she can get some help.

Nothing Molly Seidel is saying about her Anemia checks out. I struggle with Anemia, not because I have a poor diet, but because my body is not able to absorb iron from food. This became a problem in the spring of 2021, when I was about to begin training for the Boston Marathon. For reference, the safe iron range for women is 50-170 mcg/dL, the safe ferritin range is 24-307 ng/mL, and the safe Hemoglobin (HGB) range is 12-15 g/dL. HGB is the blood component that carries oxygen around the body, so when it's low, you are essentially living and training at altitude. When your iron falls below the safe minimum, you stop making red blood cells and HGB, so your counts fall as you use up blood.

Before I realized what was wrong with me, my iron fell to 6, my ferritin fell to 2, and my HGB fell to 5.3. In March, I was logging around 90 miles/week and doing my easy runs around 7:30/mile. I wasn't doing hard workouts, but I wanted a BQ for the fall, so I ran a 2:57 marathon as a pretty easy long run on a whim.

By the 4th of July, I could only jog 5 eleven-minute miles before I had to stop to walk. With counts so low, I had to have a blood transfusion, but once I got my HGB above 7.0, I got IV iron infusions. These take a week or two to improve HGB levels at all, but they are extremely effective. I ran Boston in 2:47 that fall, but I think it's realistic to say I was in 2:45 shape for the build, since it's a tough course and I didn't execute super well. Around race day, my HGB was 10.5 Anyway, in 2:45 shape, my HGB levels affected my training like this:

under 10.0: 1 6:00 mile is an all out effort

under 9.0: 1 7:00 mile is an all out effort

under 8.0: 1 8:00 mile is an all out effort

under 7.0: Can jog about 5 10:00 miles, but it is a strain

under 6.0: Can jog about 5 11:00 miles, but it is a strain

Over 10.0, I feel pretty good. I've once gotten my HGB over 11, but I didn't notice a huge difference from 10.5 or so. 10.0 is still well under the safe minimum, and anything under 12.0 HGB/50 Iron definitely makes you eligible for IV iron, which is commonly prescribed. My point is that if Molly's iron/HGB were at levels that are actually debilitating, she would definitely be getting IV iron, and be back to good health within 6 weeks max. As a professional athlete, she's probably able to get labs really frequently, and make sure her iron never stays below 50 more than a day or two. In the interview after the BAA 10K, she said her performance reflected her current fitness and recent training.

My guess is that she found out her iron was 48 and her HGB was 12.5 and she thought "Oh perfect, this is such a good excuse for my bad performance"