Endurance Engineer
CMU alumna, biomedical engineer and nationally ranked ultramarathon runner Leah Yingling races to success
By Kelly Rembold
When Carnegie Mellon University alumna Leah Yingling approached the starting line at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in September, she knew what to expect — a 106-mile race through Italy, Switzerland and France with more than 33,000 feet of total elevation gain — and how to succeed.
Leah is one of the top female ultramarathon runners in the U.S., and the UTMB is one of the most prestigious trail races in the world.
“Tackling UTMB was a huge endeavor for me,” says Leah, a 2013 College of Engineering graduate. “I worked extremely hard to get there, and I invested a lot of myself in the training and the recovery.”
Leah relies on positive self-talk and mantras to get her through the most difficult moments in her races. On UTMB race day, it was Carnegie Mellon’s motto that helped her cross the finish line.
“I kept telling myself that ‘my heart is in the work,’” Leah says. “I hadn’t thought about that in years. When I was walking to the start, it came to me. I leaned on it a lot during the later hours of the race when it got really tough.”
She’d set a goal to place in the Top 10: She finished in eighth place with a time of 26:21:24.
“I kept telling myself that ‘my heart is in the work.' I hadn’t thought about that in years. When I was walking to the start, it came to me. I leaned on it a lot during the later hours of the race when it got really tough.”
Double Major, Double Mileage
When Leah decided to attend Carnegie Mellon, she knew it would take a lot of heart — and work.
“Carnegie Mellon was definitely the option that was extremely daunting to me,” Leah says. “It was the one that felt like the biggest challenge, and I didn't know if I would succeed.”
Despite her doubts, she set herself on a pre-med track and pursued a double major in biomedical and materials science engineering. She also took up long-distance running.
“Running really kept me balanced,” Leah says. “It prioritized my well-being while I was pursuing what was an extremely difficult course load.”
As the end of her senior year approached, she decided to train for her first marathon.
“Having a goal in mind, like a marathon, helped me focus on my academics,” Leah says. “But it also allowed me to take a step back from academics and enjoy all aspects and facets of my life and what makes me me.”
Leah crossed the finish line of the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon on May 9, 2013.
She crossed the stage to receive her bachelor’s degrees at CMU’s Commencement 10 days later.
Pursuing her Passion
As Leah prepared to graduate from Carnegie Mellon, she felt a lot of pressure about her future.
“I was hearing a lot of noise around me that I should pursue pre-med. I should be a doctor, I should do this, I should do that,” Leah says. “I knew that wasn't what I wanted to do.”
She was offered a job in the biomedical engineering field, but she turned it down for a year of service with AmeriCorps.
She was assigned to the National Health Corps branch in Pittsburgh and spent a year at the Shadyside Family Health Center working in primary care and diabetes management. She optimized the medical record system, coordinated quality improvement efforts and conducted patient self-management consults.
After AmeriCorps, Leah completed a two-year post-baccalaureate research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
“That was some of the best research I've been able to participate in,” Leah says. “I had a phenomenal experience and so much autonomy as a young researcher.”
“Having a goal in mind, like a marathon, helped me focus on my academics. But it also allowed me to take a step back from academics and enjoy all aspects and facets of my life and what makes me me.”
Talented Troubleshooter
She moved to Utah to pursue and complete a master’s degree in biomedical informatics at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
Now, Leah is a biomedical engineer and regional technology specialist for Biosense Webster, a part of Johnson & Johnson. Her work focuses on cardiac ablations, which are procedures performed by electrophysiologists to correct electrical issues in a patient’s heart.
“I bring a lot of our exciting and always changing technology to our physicians across Utah, Idaho and Montana,” Leah says.
Her job requires frequent travel, so she’s often training for races while on the road.
“I've had to be pretty adaptable in my running training,” Leah says. “But I think that's enabled me to really succeed in this job because I have to be adaptable there, too.”
While her professional and running lives are separate, she sees many similarities between the two.
“I troubleshoot a ton,” Leah says. “Ultrarunning, when you break it down, is 100 miles of troubleshooting and figuring out issues on the go and being able to problem solve. Those are skills that I use every single day in my career.”
Confident and Capable
Last year, Leah began a partnership with Lululemon. As one of the brand’s global ambassadors, she connects, supports and advocates for women in endurance sports.
In March, she’s participating in Lululemon’s FURTHER Initiative, a six-day ultramarathon where she and nine other women from the brand’s global ambassador collective will have the opportunity to break world records.
“I'm still a little unsure about my goals,” Leah says. “I think I might be chasing a fast 100-mile time or a 24-hour nationally ranked performance.”
Regardless of the outcome, Leah hopes the event will inspire other women to become more confident and believe in themselves — the same way Carnegie Mellon inspired her.
“I've seen my best performances whenever I confidently believe that I deserve to be on that start line next to the best of the best,” Leah says. “You’re strong, you're powerful and there’s no cap on what you can accomplish. I think women should take that message to heart in all areas of their lives.”
