Stand up, pause, blurry vision, blackness, light-headedness, but then clear again as if it never happened. According to the World Health Organization, anaemia – a condition in which the number of red blood cells within an individual is lower than normal – affects 30% of women 15–49 years of age. Symptoms include cold hands and feet, premature fatigue during exercise, declining endurance and dizziness. This condition affects long-distance runners frequently because it impairs oxygen delivery and ruins endurance performance. In fact, most health experts say it is best for female long-distance runners to have high levels of iron in their blood to perform to their full potential. 

From my sophomore to my junior year of high school, I shaved three minutes off my 5k personal best, one minute off my 3200m run, and 30 seconds off my 1600m run. After that breakthrough season, I felt on top of the world. But when the next season came around, my times had started to plateau, and I could tell my training was not working. Most days, I felt that going to practice had no real meaning if I was not improving. 

I thought my breakthrough season was officially behind me until my real breakthrough came through advice from a family friend. Several of his successful cross country athletes and all-state runners were having blood work done to determine if iron pills and supplements would help with how hard they could push their training for the upcoming season. Pushing through my fear of needles, I decided it could be a way to discover if this was the answer to my struggling training; the test results showed severely low iron levels in my blood. After starting an iron supplement, I was able to push myself harder at practices and greatly improve my times during my senior year of high school. 

In our roles as FFA members, we are constantly challenged to grow, lead and step outside our comfort zones. There will be moments when our hard work seems to plateau and the path forward is unclear. In those moments, it can be easy to become frustrated or question whether we are capable of reaching our goals. Challenges are inevitable, but they should not become the roadblocks to success. 

So when you find yourself facing a challenge, remember: a setback is not a stopping point.