hunter Leininger
The Endurance Hunter's journey started at the youthful age of 7 years old. While most kids Hunter's age were busy playing with play-doh, Hunter was getting ready to redefine logic and test what kids are truly capable of! After years of watching his dad participated in endurance adventure races, hunter constantly begged his father to let him join in on a race. At first, Jeff (Hunter's Dad) was very reluctant with the idea, he said that it was impossible for a kid to do an endurance race. Jeff looked around at all his fellow competitors and noticed there wasn't a single kid out there let alone someone even in their 20s, even today most people in endurance sports are well into their 40s. This didn't discourage Hunter but fueled him even more, he eventually convinced his dad to let him do a 6-hour adventure race!
From that very first race Hunter continued to push the limits that were placed on what a young person can accomplish. He went on to set his first World Record by becoming the Youngest Finisher of the 24 Hour National Championship at the age of 11 when the previous record holder was 23 years old. Hunter didn't stop there, he kept questioning what a kid could really do and went on to set multiple other World Records including being the Youngest Finisher of Adventure Racing World Championships and The Worlds Toughest Race. After completing most of the toughest adventure races in the world, he started broading his horizons towards endurance mountain bike racing and Ultrarunning where he set dozens of records.
Atheltic Highlights
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Holds Mulitple World Records, Youngest Finisher of:
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24 Hour Adventure Racing Nationals (Age 11)
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3 Day Expedition Length Adventure Race (Age 12)
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4 Day Adventure Racing World Series Qualifer (Age 14)
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7 Day Adventure Racing World Championship (Age 16)
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The World's Toughest Race Eco-Challenge Fiji (Age 18)
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Youngest Person in History to ever win:
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USARA Adventure Racing National Qualifier
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Florida Adventure Racing Championship (3 wins)
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12 Hours of Santos MTB Race (2 wins)
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Expedition Length Adventure Race
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Holds Mulitple Endurance Mountain Biking Records:
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340 Mile Huracan (5th Overall, Youngest)
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Most miles at 12 hours of Santos for anyone under 16 years old (132 miles, 1st overall)
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Dozens of youngest finishes at some of the toughest endurance mountain biking races including Leadville
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Fastest Person in history to run the 288 Mile Benton Mackaye Trail in 5d 15h 33m
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Finished on the Podium in every Adventure Race he has participated in over the past 2 years
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Competed in about 100 Endurance Races as a kid against all adults and placed top 10 in over half of them
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Hunter's Proudest Accomplishment is his ability to inspire the next generation to chase their dreams and even beat his records. He helps mentor hundreds of kids and he even raced alongside an 8-year-old to beat one of his records!