Hillary Allen

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Hillary Allen is an American professional ultrarunner and endurance athlete. She was previously sponsored by The North Face[1] and is currently sponsored by Brooks Running.[2]

Hillary Allen
Hillary Allen at 2017 Transvulcania.
Personal information
NicknameHilly Goat
National teamUSA
Born (1988-08-26) August 26, 1988
Fort Collins, Colorado
OccupationsProfessional Ultramarathon Runner, Author, Multisport Athlete
Sport
SportSky Running, Ultramarathon, Gravel cycling

Career

Allen began trail running while she was studying for her PhD in science, but shortly after started competing—and winning—races. She quickly went on to become an accomplished high-altitude trail runner.[3]

In 2017, Allen was ranked one of the top runners in the world when she suffered a near-fatal accident while competing in the Hamperroken Skyrace in Tromsø, Norway.[4] The athlete fell 150 feet off a ridge, breaking both arms, two vertebrae, several ribs, and bones in her feet.[5] Allen, nicknamed "Hillygoat," endured a year of physical and mental recovery before returning to the sport to compete in the Broken Arrow Vertical Kilometer race in mid-2018.[6] She has acknowledged that there were times when death seemed easier than recovering.[7]

Two years after her accident, Allen returned to compete in the Hamperroken Skyrace and conquered the course that almost killed her.[8] In 2019, she gave a TedX talk about her recovery titled "You Can Challenge the Impossible."[9] One of Allen's goals is to inspire more women to get into trail running.[10]

Allen is a multi-sport athlete, adding Gravel racing to her portfolio starting in 2019 at Unbound Gravel and the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder.[11][12]

Allen qualified for Team USA for the 2025 World Mountain Running Championships Uphill Race at the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent.[13]

Book

She is the author of Out and Back: A Runner's Story of Survival Against All Odds.[14]

References

  1. "Hillary Allen | The North Face Endurance Running Athlete". www.thenorthface.com. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  2. "Brooks Trail Runners | Brooks Running". www.brooksrunning.com. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  3. "Hillary Allen". Jeremy Jensen. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  4. "Going back to run the race that almost killed you". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  5. "After Near-Fatal Fall, Hillary Allen Finds Strength in Silver Linings". Trail Runner Magazine. 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  6. Russell, Rhiannon (2018-06-21). "Running Was Her Life. Then She Suffered A Terrible Injury". Outside Online. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  7. McElwee, Molly (2020-04-25). "Hillary Allen: 'Some days post 150ft fall, death seemed the easier option... but I had to fight on'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  8. Andrew Dawson (2019-08-16). "Two Years Later, Hillary Allen Conquers Race That Nearly Killed Her". Runner's World. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  9. Allen, Hillary, You can challenge the impossible, retrieved 2021-04-19
  10. Allen, Hillary (2020-03-31). "Ultrarunner Hillary Allen Wants to See More Women in Trail Running". Runner's World. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  11. "Hillary Allen's Race History at gravel-results.com". www.gravel-results.com. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  12. Dehnke, Andrea (2019-05-11). "Hillary Allen is Starting from Scratch". Women's Running. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  13. Mock, Justin (2025-06-20). "2025 Broken Arrow Ascent Results: Christian Allen and Anna Gibson Win Shortened Race". iRunFar. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  14. "Out and Back by Hillary Allen: 9781944515959 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2020-12-16.