UCLA redshirt junior Shae Anderson, an All-American with both the Bruins and University of Oregon, in addition to being a gold medalist for the U.S. in the 4x400-meter relay at the World U-20 Championships in 2018 in Tampere, Finland, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss returning to competition for the first time in 343 days on Feb. 5 to compete in the 400 meters and 4x400 relay at the Arkansas Qualifier at Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville. Anderson revisits running an indoor personal-best 52.07 seconds in the 400 last year at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., as well as anchoring the Bruins to 3:30.28 at the MPSF Indoor Championships at the Dempsey facility in Seattle, Wash., her last meets before the pandemic canceled the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships in March, along with shutting down the spring outdoor season. She expresses gratitude for UCLA being able to compete at the Arkansas Qualifier, as well as Feb. 19 at the Matador Qualifier at Texas Tech, in an effort to achieve qualifying times in the 400 and 4x400 to participate in the Division 1 Indoor championship meet March 11-13 at Arkansas. Anderson reflects on having surgery in September to repair a deviated septum and how it has improved her breathing considerably and helped in recovery following workouts because of a greater oxygen flow. She also shares how without access to the UCLA weight room during the summer and fall as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, her father Mark helped Shae create a weight room in the family garage, where she was able to resume regular lifting, which has resulted in her being at 9 percent body fat, the leanest she has been during her athletic career. Anderson speaks about the Bruins' potential in the 4x400 relay and how they have to play catch up with the rest of the country, which has been competing, in many cases, for a month already. She also provides insight on her pursuit of an economics degree and how she is scheduled to graduate in winter 2022, in addition to her desire to create her own YouTube channel this year.