TheNorthFace Endurance Championship Preview – Magdalena Boulet, YiOu Wang, Alicia Shay

Three more additions to this deep and varied field, these women bring with them a grab bag of talents that could land them with some extra cash in their pocket this weekend. Magda Boulet is an Olympic qualifier marathoner with a 2:26 PR who finished 2nd here last year (as her first ultra.) She lives near these trails, trains on them regularly, and is in prime shape right now. We expect Magda to stand on the podium on Saturday. YiOu (E-O) Wang is a road marathoner with a 2:38 PR, but who also blew away the competitive Skyline 50k field this year, besting the CR by 21 minutes. She tells me she’s been doing speed work on these trails and has been picking the minds of other elites. Sounds to me like she’s ready to go. Though this is her first 50miler, I expect YiOu to do very well. And Alicia Shay is another 50mile newbie with some killer leg speed. Though she made her mark (and records) in track and road events, Alicia has re-emerged as a fast trail runner who trains with the boys in Flagstaff.  She was third at Chuckanut last year and has more competitive spirit than anyone I’ve spoken with. This is gonna be good.   Episode Notes: Sponsored by Territory Run Company YiOu spoke about Devon Yanko (Crosby-Helms.) Here’s our interview with her. Outro music: Dry the Rain by The Beta Band