Ingrid has loved competitive sports since a young age. Originally swimming was her passion and she began swimming competitively at 6 years old, she swam throughout high school and attending UCLA (a division 1 school) where she swam competitively for 2 years, while studying Sociology.
After leaving college, Ingrid made the transition from swimming to running and also decided to become an actress. Played lifeguard Sheryl Whelan, on Baywatch as well as having roles on Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, Castle, and Parenthood, to name a few!
At the age of 47 after running her fastest marathon ever, 2hr 48 mins in the 2019 LA Marathon.
Ingrid was feeling the strongest and fittest she’d ever been.
However, while training for her next challenge, she started to not feel well and after seeing her doctor was diagnosed with breast cancer. Ingrid underwent a double mastectomy, and continued to run while undergoing six rounds of chemotherapy as well as radiation.
Ingrid is a member of Janes an elite women’s running group based in LA and in 2021 Ingrid was inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame.
RUNNING CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2014 3rd Place Masters Female Chicago Marathon 2014 2nd Place Female Overall Orange County Marathon 2016 USATF Masters Half Marathon Championship: 5th place Masters Woman Overall 2021 2nd Place 50+, 12th Overall USATF Masters XC Club Nationals Tallahassee,FL 2022 1st Place 50+, 8th Overall USATF Masters XC Championships Mission Bay, CA
New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out.
The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com
Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March.
Listen to Ingrid Now!
Click here if you can't see the link below.
Show notes
Who is Ingrid
Being based in Santa Monica, California, USA
Racing for the past 10 years
Starting out as a competitive swimmer
Swimming for 2 years in College at UCLA
Hating running when she was younger
Transition to running at 18/19 years old
Starting to work as a lifeguard for LA County
Running on the beach and doing her first marathon
Running marathons and improving her times
Joining the Janes’ an elite running team in Santa Monica and wanting to break 3hrs in the marathon
Always loved training and competing
Liking to challenge herself
Working as an actor for 26 years
Finding her niche in life
What was Ingrid like as a little girl
Being taught to swim from a very young age
Being a junior lifeguard
Studying Sociology at College in the early 90s
Getting into acting and booking her first commercial
Acting in Baywatch
Gradually falling in love with running
Deciding to join the Janes Elite Running Club
Taking 5 years to run under 3hrs
Being fully committed to her running program
Getting a running coach and running 70 miles a week
Breaking 3 hrs when she was 45 years old
Starting to change her training and wanting to go faster
Running 100mile weeks for 3 months before the LA Marathon
Running 2.48 at the LA Marathon!!!
Starting to not feel well and being diagnosed with Breast Cancer
Feeling shocked
The next steps to follow
Being supported by the running community
Running throughout her treatment
Having surgery in August 2019
Getting into cross country races in 2021
Having a baby heart attack at a race in New Jersey
Figuring out what happened
Looking at running in a different way
Reframing the situation in her mind
Advice for new runners starting out
The joy of making running fun!
A magical running memory
How to connect with Ingrid
Social Media
Instagram @ingridwalt
Janes Elite Racing - www.thejanes.net
Feeling inspired week after week?
You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!
Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love.
Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!
Want to do more?
Please become a Patron and donate US$5 a month to help fund the runnings costs. Thank you.
