This is Hellcat, a newsletter counting down 10 weeks to Death Valley.

Follow for a weekly training diary as Hannah Yoest prepares to run The Speed Project relay race with the GRIT USA team. The race is 340 miles from the Santa Monica Pier to the Las Vegas Strip. The team is six runners, four men and two women, alternating 5k segments through the Mojave desert. The race has no rules. 

As a 10 week series, this newsletter will cover some of the history of ultra running and unsanctioned racing, training strategy, book recommendations, and the ways politics impact running. And lookout for the occasional running playlist. 

Hannah is a former D1 rower for the University of Virginia. She has run 5 marathons, finished a 70.3 Ironman, and enjoys getting out on trails with her bloodhound Jagger.