#541 - Leah Yingling: One of the Best in the World While Working Full-Time (and not running college XC/track)

The Rambling Runner Podcast

Leah Yingling is an ultrarunner based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Leah started racing ultras in 2015 and most recently was ranked #9 in the UltraRunning Magazine Ultrarunner of the Year rankings. In 2022, she finished 6th (and top American) at the Western States Endurance Run, 2nd at the Canyons 100k, and competed for Team USA at the Trail World Championships in the 80k.

With that amazing resume it would be reasonable to assume that Leah has been steeped in elite running since she was a teenager. While reasonable, that assumption would be wildly incorrect. In fact, Leah still holds down an amazingly complex job at the intersection of healthcare and tech that requires her to run at night and fit her training around a hectic and shifting schedule. In this conversation Leah breaks down her start in running and how she has reached the top of the sport despite not devoting herself entirely too it. In addition, Leah also discusses being sexually assaulted on a trail run at age 19 and how she overcame that horrific experience.

Two weeks ago Lululemon altered the face of women's running by announcing their Further initiative and ten new Global Ambassadors that include some of the best and most interesting women in the running community, including Leah. We breakdown everything about this partnership, how it came about, what it means for the running community, and Leah will work with them to increase the amount of females in trail ultramarathons.

Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by UCAN nutrition which is powered to deliver steady, long lasting energy without the spike and crash. Add in UCAN Hydrate to get those electrolytes that you need to stay hydrated. Finally, you've got to try the award winning Edge energy gels - they are my go-to on the run. You will get 20% of all of your orders at ucan.co with code RAMBLING.

We are also sponsored by Running Warehouse! This is the go-to website for running shoes, gear, nutrition, and much more. Click this link to visit Running Warehouse and get all of the items for your running journey.

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