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1.17.23 – Hellah Sidibe’s American Dream

UltraSignup News

January 17th, 2023

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7 min read

Trailhead: Hellah Sidibe’s American Dream UltraSignup

TOGETHER WITH

Happy Tuesday, trail friends. We hope you enjoyed some trail time on your day off to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

This week we kick off a new season of The Trailhead Podcast with Buzz and Corrine leading us through all things trail and ultrarunning. Morgan Tilton profiles force of nature, Hellah Sidibe, who has run every day for the last five years. And in the DFL, we try not to lord our power over the sticks in Stickworld.

– Matt Hart

THE WEEKEND COOL DOWN

Allison Baca ran her first ultra, the Coldwater Rumble, four years ago. This weekend, she returned to the same event—after time off to have a baby—and won the race outright, beating all the men in course record time (?: 1). At the Hurt 100 in Hawaii, Alyssa Clark finished 2nd overall to win the woman’s race and Nate Jaqua took home his second HURT victory.

Try your hand at the coolest puzzle in ultrarunning, provided by the Ultrarunner Podcast (?: 2). How many did you get without looking?

In FKT News: Both Mount Washington (?: 3) and the Bob Graham Round had their winter FKTs improved upon last week! Congrats Steven J Lange and Elsey Davis, respectively.

Want more racing? Check out these upcoming events still open for registration.

Outlaw 100 Oklahoma, Feb 11 (OK)
Holiday Lake 50K++, Feb 18 (VA)
Born to Adapt, Apr 15 (CA)

COMMUNITY

Hellah Sidibe’s American Dream

Former professional soccer player, Hellah Sidibe, is on a run streak that not even the venerable Leadville 100 could interrupt. This week, Morgan Tilton writes about his life in Mali, his previous career, and how running shoes can help break down cyclical poverty.

“Knowing where I came from and realizing how privileged I was being able to live the American dream—none of my friends back home in Mali would get a chance to. Even though we were poor here in the U.S., I had a chance.”

TAKE FLIGHT!

SEASON 2 EPISODE 1:

Year in Review, Predictions Ahead, and Allie Mac!

Join us as we kick off another exciting season of The Trailhead Podcast!

Buzz and Corrine talk “best of” 2022 and make some predictions for the year ahead. Corrine interviews Allie “Mac” McLaughlin about her spectacular race season and our article, “Sprinting down and flying above the world’s biggest mountains.” And Buzz drops the hard truth on our caller, Nick, who wants to PR in the marathon after running his first 100-miler.

Presented by Ultimate Direction. Use promo code “Trailhead25” for 25% off Ultimate Direction.

LISTEN HERE

THE DROP BAG

❣️ Lease Your Running Shoes: A new ground-breaking, circular, closed-loop shoe buying process from On means we can have nice shoes with less waste—watch!

? Microdose This! Coach Zahan, at Samsara Experience, suggests microdosing your strength work. We’ve seen this called greasing the groove as well, but any way you name it, getting strong doesn’t have to involve hours in the gym.

? Values-Based Decision Making: Some professional female athletes are eschewing problematic mega-brands to sign contracts with sports companies that better align with their values.

DFL (DEAD FREAKIN’ LAST)

? Welcome to trail running, where sticks are everywhere. ⬆️

? Wallmsley’s World: The 3rd edition of Jim Walmsley’s journey to UTMB dropped last week. The American athlete uprooted his life to move, with his wife, to France in pursuit of becoming the first American male to win the Tour du Mont Blanc.

⚡ RAD Awards: Kelly Newlon and the team at Real Athlete Diets (RAD) have been announcing their 3rd Annual “Do Epic Sh*t” awards over the past week.

? This tweet, about something Anton Krupicka said in a YouTube film, has fired people up!

? Video of the Week: Göran Winblad endeavors to find out why these athletes choose to run for 24-hours in a basement.

➡️ Lastly, here’s what we’re reading, watching, and obsessed with this week.