Helen Wu

Age: 35

How long have you been running? 10 years

How often do you race? Around 4-6 times a year

Weekly mileage? 50-75 when in training mode

Favorite race? Western States was a sublime experience

Favorite trail? The Wonderland Trail is pretty hard to beat

Favorite shoe? Brooks Cascadia

Favorite distance? 100 miles for the sheer ridiculous, unpredictable nature of it. You never know what could happen.

Preferred terrain? The more climbing the better. Bring it!

Best performance? I think it’s all relative to your ability and expectations at the time. As a total trail rookie doing all the wrong things, I was psyched to pull off 6:10 for a 3rd place finish in my first ultra, the Montana de Oro 50K – a very challenging coastal course with 6,700 ft of climbing.

Bucket list race? Hardrock

Favorite beer? Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

If I wasn’t running, I’d be … in the mountains doing something else – backpacking, mountaineering, snowboarding, climbing – you get the point

Favorite aid station meal? Ice cold watermelon juice on a hot day

What do you do in real life? Health policy researcher