endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it to glory.
- WILLIAM BARCLAY
Amy
Amy has been a runner and competitor since she was a young girl. Starting out, she was a road runner but now has continued her metamorphosis into a trail and an ultra runner.
The last couple of years have been pretty impressive for her and she plans on continuing that trajectory.
In 2020 Amy won Masters at the Byron 10 Miler and placed 1st in her age group for the 2021 race. In 2020 she officially became an ultra runner by completing her first 50k (approximately 32 miles). Amy also won the inaugural Gristmill Grind and is a staple in the Yeti Trail Series.
The most impressive part of this athlete is that all of the accomplishments we have mentioned have been hammered down after she received a neuroendocrine cancer diagnosis in 2018.
Amy works very hard to show people that a diagnosis doesn’t define you. She is relentless and takes care of her body through movement, vegetarian diet, and positive attitude.
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Watch out for this one! She is running another 50k at Kettle Moraine this summer and going her furthest distance yet at the Hennepin 50 Miler in October.
Noah Bellini
Noah Bellini is a local MMA fighter that is going places! He won his most recent fight in Davenport and has a winning record. Noah trains both here in the Sauk Valley and also in Chicago.
This guy is the full package. Hard working, focused, talented, and willing to put in what is necessary in order to put his best foot forward in the ring/cage.
Not only that, he is smart and truly a nice guy that is focused on promoting his Sauk Valley area.
GRACE EGAN
Grace Egan is 16 years old and has already been courted by numerous colleges and has verbally committed to Ohio State University.
She has recently been named 2nd team All-American and Western Big Six Conference Player of the Year while her team won 1st team All-Conference and she reached 1000 career kills in the sectional game.
Grace plays volleyball for Sterling High School and also club volleyball. Her club team, 1st Alliance 17 Gold was the first team to qualify for the 2022 National Championships this summer.
It doesn’t end there…last summer she had the opportunity to train with UASV (USA Volleyball) National Team Development Program.
We are anxious to see where this woman goes next with all her drive and talent. Don’t be mistaken however, not only is she extremely athletically talented but she is also crazy smart.
DAN BLUMHOFF
Dan Blumhoff is a local trail and ultra runner with some large goals this year. He already accomplished an overall win at the ChillBilly 2 hour race and he is driven to run a sub-6 hour 50k at Earth Day Trail Races this spring.
(Side note: a 50 kilometer race is approximately 31 miles and is the first distance past the traditional marathon length of 26.2 miles.)
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Dan’s best finishes and race memories include finishing the 50 miler at the Potawatomi Trail Races last April, earning a “spanker” at Shuetzen Nein 9 hour trail race, and PRing both his 50k and 50 mile times at the Pinetum Mind Games race last July.