Underbirds Flying High: Ari Hendrix on Racing, Running, Representation, and Resilience

This episode with Ari Hendrix is the second in a Oiselle-sponsored series with the Underbirds: a team of 5 female athletes being supported by Oiselle in the lead up to the 2024 Marathon Olympic Trials. Ari qualified for the trials with a 2:35 PR, making her the 3rd fastest US born African American woman marathoner. Away from running, Ari is a fiancé, twin, and full-time wear-test analyst for Hoka. 

In this episode we talk about:

-from college basketball and a 4-hour marathon to a 2:35 and the Olympic Trials

-tips for successful race execution: running with others, trusting fitness, consistency, and patience 

-reasons to run: mental health, community, and representation as an elite African American runner

-taking chances and betting on yourself 

-the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials as a Oiselle Underbird 

Like what you heard? Tune in next month for episode 3 in the Oiselle Underbirds series. https://www.oiselle.com/pages/year-of-the-underbird 

Listen to episode 1 here: 289. Underbirds Flying High: Molly Bookmyer's Journey to the Marathon Olympic Trials

Follow Ari on Instagram @ari_hendrix1 and For The Long Run @forthelrpod 

--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/forthelongrun/support 

Past guests on For The Long Run include: 177. Molly Seidel; 226. Mike "Kofuzi"; 228. Kara Goucher; 59. Shalane Flanagan; 234. Camille Herron; 198. Courtney Frerichs; 229. Jes Woods; 207. Tyler Andrews; 197. Dean Karnazes; 206. Katie Arnold; 220. CJ Albertson; 153. Joe Holder; 199. Kelly Roberts; 188. Gwen Jorgensen; 205. Emily Abbate; 209. Sara Vaughn; 174. Nick Bare; 97 Amelia Boone; 101. Courtney Dauwalter, 219. Dylan Bowman; 191. Matt Chittim; 200. David Roche; and more!

Skratch Labs

We are proud to be sponsored by Skratch Labs, a local, Boulder-based sports nutrition company.

You can grab energy bars, energy chews, hydration mix, recovery drink mix, and super high-carb drink mixes for your big days from Skratch to fuel your training and upcoming adventures. Get 20% off your order with the code FTLR20 when you shop through this link.

Oiselle

This podcast episode is supported by Oiselle, one of my favorite brands in the running space, a running apparel company run by women for women. And this year, the Year of the Underbird, Oiselle is supporting a small group of women leading up to the Olympic Marathon Trials, as well as a series here on the podcast, helping to amplify and share the stories of these resilient athletes.

So, if you want to support Oiselle in their mission to help people feel like they belong here, you can check out more about the Year of the Underbird here.

And if you’re in the market for some great running gear, head on over to their website and use code FTLR10 for 10% off your first order.

2Before

Thank you to 2Before for sponsoring the podcast. 2Before is a natural sports performance supplement made from New Zealand Blackcurrant berries. These are the most researched berries, and those studies are showing that these berries have exceptionally high antioxidant levels and are proven to enhance athletic performance, improve endurance, help kick-start recovery, and strengthen immunity.

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