About this episode

Sierra DeGroff shares her journey from a high-stress job at Tesla to becoming a champion ultra-runner, emphasizing the importance of work-life balance in her performance.

What happens when you trade the high-stress world of Tesla for a career in Sales Engineering? For Sierra DeGroff , it meant finding the mental space to become one of the most dominant forces in the ultra-running community. In this episode of the Dirt & Vert Podcast , we sit down with the 2026 Umstead 100 Female Champion to deconstruct her journey from a Michigan track athlete to the top of the ultra podium. Sierra gets real about her transition from the marathon distance to the grueling world of 100-milers, sharing the "nitty-gritty" of her Umstead race strategy and the nutrition plan that kept her fueled for a first-place finish. We explore the central theme of her career: how improving her work-life balance didn't just make her happier—it made her faster.

People in this episode

Host: East Coast Adventures

Guest: Sierra DeGroff

Topics covered

• ultra-running
• work-life balance
• performance
• nutrition
• career transition

Keywords

• ultra-running
• Umstead 100
• Sierra DeGroff
• nutrition plan
• work-life balance
• marathon
• 100-milers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tesla

Places: Michigan

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