Early life and education
Herron was born in Norman, Oklahoma. She attended Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City, where she was a three-time All-State recipient in cross country, a three-time State Champion in track and field, and valedictorian. [6]
After receiving academic and athletic scholarships, Herron attended the University of Tulsa, where she was a Top 10 Senior and earned a bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sports Science in 2005. She began doing scientific research in college to understand why she had stress fractures as a young runner. [2] [7]
Herron obtained a masters degree in Exercise and Sports Science from Oregon State University in 2007. Her research focused on identifying the optimal anabolic stimulus for musculoskeletal health, emphasizing the importance of frequent light mechanical stress interspersed with infrequent high-intensity stress. [8] [9]
Herron was born with hearing loss and had a near-drowning incident at the age of three. [10] She was later diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder, and says she did not speak much as a child. She began running in seventh grade, the year after Forrest Gump (1994) was released. She recalls relating to Forrest Gump, not just because of the running. Over the years her husband noticed autistic traits, and through talking to a friend in Oklahoma and taking online tests, she pursued testing for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In 2024 she was officially diagnosed with both. [11]
Herron's unusual running gait and arm swing are attributed to an extra bone in her foot and twists in her arm and femur. [12] [13]
Herron, then age 19, and her family lost their home and possessions during the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. She stated that she found the event to be a turning point and began running longer distances on Sundays to celebrate life. [14]
Career
Herron returned to competitive running as a road racer under the guidance of her husband, Conor Holt, a former elite runner and college coach. [10] She attributes her success in ultrarunning to her scientific knowledge and training approach, which prioritizes short, frequent runs to accumulate high volume consistently. [7]
Herron has worked as a research assistant in bone imaging and osteoimmunology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, co-authoring several scientific papers. [15]
Herron was partnered with Lululemon Athletica, with whom she collaborated on product development and initiatives such as the launch of a women's trail shoe and the lululemon FURTHER program, which included a six-day ultramarathon for women in March 2024. [16] [17] [18] On September 26, 2024, Lululemon ended its association with Herron [19] after multiple user accounts were found to be inappropriately removing positive information about other athletes from Wikipedia while adding positive information about Herron. [20] [21] [22]
Herron coaches athletes and offers coaching through an online coaching program. [23]
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