Keila Merino

About

Keila Merino is an American ultrarunner, coach, and New York City public school teacher who has built one of the sport's most quietly impressive resumes while holding a demanding full-time teaching career spanning over 20 years. Born in a small town in Mexico, she moved to Arizona at age nine, found competitive running through school programmes, competed at Arizona State University, and later relocated to New York City. In 2012 she won the Greater New York 100 Mile Race outright — beating all competitors, male and female — to become the inaugural champion of the event. In 2013 she placed third at the Leadville Trail 100, one of the world's most storied 100-mile races, on her first attempt at that distance. The following year she completed the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning — Western States 100, Vermont 100, Leadville Trail 100, and Wasatch Front 100 in a single summer — joining a very small cohort of women who have done so. A two-time New York Road Runners Ultrarunner of the Year and winner of the NYRR Knickerbocker 60K, she currently serves as a program assistant with the Rising New York Road Runners initiative at PS 75 in Manhattan, making her one of trail ultrarunning's most impactful grassroots ambassadors.

Notable Wins

• — Greater New York 100 Mile 2012 (outright winner)
• — 3rd Leadville Trail 100 2013
• — Grand Slam of Ultrarunning 2014
• — NYRR Knickerbocker 60K
• — NYRR Ultrarunner of the Year (x2)

Race History