When cross country/middle-distance runner Abigail Butera came to Clarion a year ago, the then freshman not only had to adapt to competing at the college level, but doing so while managing a recently diagnosed medical condition – postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

In POTS, the heart beats faster than normal when the individual goes from sitting to standing, resulting in symptoms such as dizziness, heart palpitations or a racing heart, fatigue and weakness, cold extremities, and neurologic complications (headaches, dizziness, "brain fog").

Though not life threatening, the syndrome can greatly interfere with the typical activities of daily living, to say nothing of the effect it could potentially have on athletic participation.

"It's basically where my heart rate will kind of skyrocket when I move positions, like sitting up too fast I might kind of see stars," Butera said. "Sometimes when I run really hard or don't get enough electrolytes or salt I can feel dizzy and pass out sometimes after races."

"It makes me hyperaware of what I'm eating, what I'm drinking, if I'm getting enough electrolytes. I try to focus on nutrition and getting enough sodium in my body, staying hydrated. I have to be on top of that – just knowing my body well enough and not pushing myself too far."

Though Butera is vigilant when it comes to managing her condition, particularly within the contexts of practice and competition, sometimes things don't necessarily go as planned.
Relayed head cross country coach Eric Laughlin, "We were at an indoor track meet at Mount Union [Feb. 2025], that was a bad one. She passed out [after the race] and it took almost an hour for us to get her completely 100 percent back [revived]."

"Halfway through the race, I felt not great. I finished the race, but afterwards I was down for about an hour," Butera said. "The trainers couldn't get me awake, I was in and out of consciousness. I snapped back after a good bit.

After that episode, Butera and Laughlin met with the cross country team's faculty mentor, Kim Schwabenbauer, a registered dietician and associate professor in the university's exercise, health, and sports science program. Together, the trio put protocols into place aimed at further minimizing the effect of POTs on Butera's performance.  

"She's great at what she does," said Laughlin about Schwabenbauer. "She's met with Abby several different times throughout the past two years and it's been beneficial, it's been very helpful."

"You have to have a routine to be successful with POTs. It's making sure she's staying on track, reminding her to stay on the electrolytes, stay on the diet." Laughlin said. "There's different [times], when I see her, you just know something's off – the way she's running, if she's really lethargic throughout the day, different things like that. There's a lot of red flags. We've had different situations where we know how we can help her through those."

Though POTs is a constant in Butera's life, the exercise science major from York, Pa. doesn't let it define her as an athlete or teammate.

"I'm trying not to focus on [athletic] goals this year. I really want the team to be at a really good spot, just a positive place for everybody." she said. "These girls [her teammates], they're just so supportive. It matters so much to be good as a team, rather than individually."

"The team and the environment here [at Clarion], I don't know what I would do without them. There's people around campus that care for you."

"Watching her go to the next step of her running career and the steps she's taking in her academics and everything else, it's pretty cool to see," Laughlin said.