Professional Ambassadors!
Don’t miss this year’s Philadelphia Marathon Weekend featuring elite athletes Dakotah Popehn (NEW!), Lauren Fleshman, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Jared Ward and the Mayor of Running himself, Bart Yasso.
Lauren Fleshman is one of the most decorated American distance runners of all time, having won five NCAA championships at Stanford and two national championships as a professional.
Her book, “Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World”, was an instant NYT Bestseller and was named William Hill Sportsbook of the Year in 2023. Lauren’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Time and Runner’s World.
Learn more about Lauren Fleshman
She was Head Coach of Littlewing Athletics for eight years, serving professional women runners with Olympic aspirations.
She is the brand strategy advisor for Oiselle, a fitness apparel company for women, and the co-founder of Picky Bars, a natural food company.
She lives in Bend, Oregon with her two kids, enjoys spending time with her partner Eva Moss, and is currently hard at work assisting coaches and communities in changing sport culture, as well as facilitating her popular and impactful Wilder Running and Writing Retreats.
Dakotah Popehn is a professional long-distance runner and 2024 U.S. Olympian.
A two-time Grandma’s Marathon champion (2021, 2022), Dakotah rose to national prominence after placing third at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, securing her spot on Team USA.
Learn more about Dakotah Popehn
She went on to finish 11th in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, the highest placement among American runners.
A five-time NCAA Division II national qualifier and two-time All-American at Northern State University, Dakotah now competes with Minnesota Distance Elite.
Aliphine Tuliamuk is a Kenyan-American professional marathon athlete and winner of the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials.
A ten-time USATF Champion, Aliphine has a personal best marathon time of 2:24:37 at the 2023 Boston Marathon.
(Photo credit Paul Ward)
Learn more about Aliphine Tuliamuk
Aliphine Tuliamuk came to the U.S. to attend Iowa State University before transferring and graduating from Wichita State.
On April 29, 2016, she gained her U.S. citizenship, and in her first year as a U.S. citizen, Tuliamuk claimed national road titles over 25K, 20K, and 5K, adding a runner-up finish at the 10-mile championships. She then finished eight in the 10,000 meters at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, and won the 2017 USATF 10 km title at AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.
Tuliamuk represented Team USATF in the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, finishing 15th overall and first American.
In 2019, she finished 12th at the New York City Marathon and then qualified for her first Olympic team by finishing first at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Atlanta with a time of 2:27:23.
In January of 2021, Aliphine gave birth to a baby girl, Zoe, seven months before competing in the Tokyo Olympics.
Tuliamuk, who calls herself a people person, now trains in Flagstaff, Arizona. She is an avid crocheter, and her go-to breakfast is granola with berries, and her favorite post-race indulgence is steak.
Jared Ward is a six time All-American at BYU, three time USA National Champion, a 2016 Olympian (6th place in marathon in Rio) and a Dietz and Watson Philadelphia Half Marathon finisher!
Learn more about Jared Ward
Bart Yasso, known as the Mayor of Running, is the now retired Runner’s World Chief Running Officer. Yasso, the inventor of the Yasso 800s, a marathon-training schedule used by thousands around the world. He is one of the few people to have completed races on all seven continents from the Antarctica marathon to the Mt. Kilimanjaro marathon.