Ariane Hendrix

Life lately ❤️❤️❤️

0-2 in the desert @blackcanyonultras 50k yesterday with the DNF. Rolled my ankle twice and had to call it a day. It was a goood day until it just wasn’t. @daybreakracing Big Alta 100k in 4 weeks so had to be smart. A huge shout out to @veronicaalorraine for crewing and supporting me always ❤️ and 📸 @fbtcpeter for crew and support and amazing Photos!!! Tough day yesterday but I have to keep believing just like @badbunnypr says ❤️❤️ #blackcayon #ultrarunners

Ari Hendrix @ari_hendrix1 is back on the podcast! In this episode, Hendrix tells the story of refinding her joy in competitive running, after a period of deeply questioning whether or not she was finished with elite level racing. Hendrix's first appearance on WRS was Dec 2023. Then, she was putting the finishing touches on her preparation for the 2024 Olympic Trials Marathon. That episode covers her incredible running journey to that point. This episode catches us up from then to today, when Hendrix is looking forward to racing her first 100k trail race, at the Javelina Jundred. How Hendrix went from being an elite level marathoner to joyfully dedicating herself to ultra trail racing (and crushing it!) is what this episode is all about. Get ready to cheer Hendrix on in this next big chapter of her running career. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, like Spotify, Apple, YouTube. #trailrunning #trailrunner #javelinajundred #roadtotrail #trailrunningcommunity

A lot of this the last few months, 9 days out from @javelinajundred 100k!

Well that was fun! Ran the @alpine.running Three Sister Skyline 50k and came away with a win! A fun day out on the trails. Took a fall and got back up, got some cramps and kept moving so got a lot of learning in too! A special shoutout to the MVP of the weekend @veronicaalorraine for crewing during the race (she got me in and out of that aid station quick!) and helping with all race weekend logistics! I love you and appreciate you ❤️. And shoutout @drmeganroche for the continued guidance with all things running, trails and life!! All roads lead to @javelinajundred 100k in October! 📸 @jamesholk @alpine.running

Ari Hendrix has a lot to be proud of as a road marathoner, and a lot to look forward to as a trail ultrarunner. “I don’t know that I’ve achieved everything I want to on the roads,” she reflected, “but I think I’m in a place where I would be ok with – and super proud of – my career on the roads.” Hendrix’s first marathon, in 2012, was a 3:57 that she was thrilled to have finished without walking. Then, the following year, she won the same race in 3:15. Five years later, she broke three hours for the first time at her hometown race, the Ventura Marathon. She next wanted to go sub-2:45 to qualify for the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials, and was equally heartbroken and motivated after coming up short within the qualifying window – especially because the cutoff was lowered to 2:37 for the 2024 Trials. Undeterred, Hendrix earned her qualifier at CIM in 2022. “I’m proud of myself for the four-year journey that it took to get there,” she said. Unfortunately, while training for the Trials, she started noticing that “My mindset was not in a good place – running had become not fun.” And so, her next goal was to inject fun back into running, which, for her, meant transitioning to the trails. In the last year, she has done five trail races, including a 9th place finish at the Canyons 50K in her first attempt at the distance. Hendrix has been an exceptional ambassador for The List, particularly in the lead-up to the 2024 Marathon Trials when several media outlets took interest in her story. “I enjoyed the media attention in the sense of being able to represent Black women and talk about The List,” she said. She is currently filling a similar void on the trails – a space known for having even fewer people of color than road marathons – by running hard, having fun, and being herself. “I’m proud to be a Black woman and LGBTQ+, and I’m just going to show up as myself – and that’s always what I’ll do,” she said. “So far, [trail running] has been great. People have been really supportive and welcoming.” So, yeah, Hendrix has a lot to be proud of – and a lot to look forward to. “I have a lot of big goals on the trails that I’d like to obtain,” she affirmed.

In 2024 @ari_hendrix1 started the year by running the US Olympic Team Trials Marathon in Orlando, and since then, she’s mostly been on the trails! She’s the 3rd fastest US-Born African American Woman in the Marathon, but this year, she’s taken to the trails to run her first 50K. In conversation with Lane 9, she shared what she has navigated with running, mental health, learning to fuel for longer distances, running as a proud LGBTQIA+🏳️‍🌈 athlete, and what drew her to the trails from the road. Listen to episode 52, on the Lane 9 Podcast! ✨

You belong”. As I ran the Stumptown half marathon on Saturday this is what I kept telling myself. Trail running is a new dynamic, new places, new people. And I told myself I belonged and I believe that. I think this extends far beyond running but in life. As an African American woman and queer woman sometimes new places, and people can make me feel anxious and nervous and even scared sometimes. It’s Unknown. But it doesn’t change that fact that I and we all belong. Be you. Show up, be there. Be yourself. You belong too. It’s so crucial and important that we remember that. The support and love I’ve been getting since starting to trail run has been incredible and so so appreciated, more than I can say. At races, in the community, online, my friends,my coach, my family. I’m excited to be a part of representation of my communities on the on the trails and the roads. My hope is to see it grow. For more people of underrepresented communities to get out there and be yourself and been seen. 📸 @fullsendmedia_

50k debut @canyonsenduranceruns in the books! Finished 9th in my first 50k and so so stoked with a top 10 finish!!! What a day! I truly learned so so much out on the course about myself, trail running and the 50k distance! I fought hard for this one! I am so so stoked on this!! Amazing to get out there and compete with some amazing women! Congratulations to @veronicaalorraine on running the 25k yesterday you crushed it! So proud of you! Thank you to @drmeganroche for your guidance, and support! So excited for the next one! See you @brokenarrowskyrace 46k! 📸 @sydneylewis.photo 📸 @tonywithasony

Race week! @canyonsenduranceruns 50k on Saturday! This build has been different than anything I’ve ever done and it’s been some of the most fun I’ve had. I’m excited to put it all out there and let it rip on the trails. Such a big thank you to my coach @drmeganroche for all the guidance and all that you do! I appreciate you! and to @veronicaalorraine thank you for all of your support and love. Can't wait to see you crush the 25k. I'm going into this weekend with so much gratitude and excitement. Going to pit it all out there! 📸 @jamesholk

Got the win @shamrockpdx 5k this morning ☘️☘️. Shout out to everyone that was there and raced!! And I am so immensely proud of @veronicaalorraine who ran her first half marathon and crushed it today! So excited for you!! Next up @daybreakracing Gorge 30k and @canyonsenduranceruns 50k.

❤️❤️❤️ Christmas in CA, and my whole heart