Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
CORONA, CA—- Meet legendary Yolanda Holder, a professional ultramarathon walker and a long-distance endurance athlete. At age 61 she is breaking boundaries in the ultra-marathon world. On January 25, 2020, Yolanda became the first African American Woman to finish a 50K Race Walk placing 6th in the Women’s National Championship 50K Race Walk and the 2020 National 50K Age Group Champion and won a purse of $1000.
In 2019, Yolanda became the first African American Woman and second African American to earn a United States Race Walk Centurion #94 and the oldest person to race walk 100 miles in under 24 hours (23:52:17). Also, in 2019 at the Six Days in the Dome in Milwaukee, she set a World and American Age Group Record (60-64) 413 miles in six days.
Yolanda’s list of accomplishments as a walker that competes with runners in long. She’s a two-time Guinness World Record holder for “Most Marathons Completed in a Calendar Year”, finishing a staggering 106 marathons/ultras in 2010 and breaking her own record in 2012 finishing 120 marathons/ultras. She is the first American Woman and African American to Run or Walk over 100 marathons in a calendar year and the first woman in the world to ever do it twice.
Yolanda’s accomplishments are amazing, at the 2017 Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 3100 Mile Race she set a World Record first Pedestrian (walker) to walk the entire race finishing in 51 Days, 17 hours and 13 seconds. She is also the first African American male or female, runner or walker to ever compete in this brutal footrace. The Sri Chinmoy 3100 Mile Race called “The Mount Everest of ultramarathons” by The New York Times, this is the longest certified footrace in the world that is held in the heat of the summer in New York. The athletes can test themselves in a f format unlike any other ultra-marathon event. In order to meet their goal of 3100 miles in 52 days, they must log an average of 60 miles per day. The race starts at 6am and the athletes have until midnight when the course closes for the night. Yolanda is known as the Walking Diva and she took 52 outfits looking very stylist as she finished each day.
Yolanda is a master’s athlete at her athletic peak setting and breaking World and American records with no plans on stopping. What’s special and close to her heart is “Extreme Walk 4 Diabetes”, an annual event she founded in honor of her parents. Losing both her parents to this horrible disease she promotes healthy living through Walking 4 Your Health. Walking a mile or more daily and making small changes to your eating habits can help control not only diabetes but all diseases. She practices what she preaches for over two years daily, she walks a mile or more, a headstand, a plank, drinks waters, and writes down what’s she’s grateful for. Her purpose in life is to inspire and motivate everyone to take care of their health by moving your body daily.
Yolanda is a wife, mother of two grown children, inspirational speaker, and author.
If you would like to hear more of Yolanda’s amazing story she’s available for speaking engagements and can be reach at yolandaholder@gmail.com or on Facebook.
