Photo: Carl Laniak

We sat down with 25-year-old Addison Hendricks, the winner of the 2024 Last Annual Heart of the South (HOTS). Hendricks shared more about ultrarunning, his multiple finishes at HOTS and Vol State 500k and what keeps him moving through a niche corner of our already niche sport.

How did you first get into running, and when did you make the jump into ultrarunning?

I ran cross country and track all throughout middle school and high school, and then I did my first ultra in high school because my coach, Aaron Thompson, put on a 48-hour track race as a fundraiser. I was like, “I’ll do it.” We looked up what the under-21 American record was for the 48-hour track distance, and it was only around 130 miles. So, my first ultra ever, I actually ended up setting the new American U-21 outdoor track 48-hour record.

What did your progression look like after that event?

Back then, it feels like every weekend I was going for an ultra. The cross-country coach and I—he ran ultras too—would have a cross-country meet on Friday night and then we’d drive all night to Louisiana or Mississippi, run a 50k or 50-mile the next day. That went on for a long time.

Talk us through your “journey” with journey runs. How did it start and what did you learn?

I signed up for my first HOTS because I was talking to a girl who was an ultrarunner, and I think I was just wanting to impress her by doing something really long. Afterwards, I learned that I didn’t know anything. It’s like being in a blizzard without clothes on. You feel naked.

Photo: Jess’ Backyard Ultra

You’ve gotten faster each time, building up to a win at HOTS this year. What are the takeaways that led to those improvements?

Keep constant forward progress and proper hydration, because if you keep moving, you’ll cover ground. Obviously, it gets to a point where you’ve got to sleep, because you’ll end up going so slow you’re just hurting your time, but for the most part, if you keep moving at a good pace, you’ll have a good finishing time. A lot of it is mental fortitude. I believe the body and mind will let you go so much further than you think you’re able to.

You’ve been doing multiple journey runs each year over the last couple years. What keeps you going?

Now, it’s just an addiction. It’s the only time I get to put my phone on airplane mode and forget about my company. No one calls me during these ultras. I’m dead to the world. I love every second of it. It’s like a mini vacation. I’ll get to sleep outside a couple times and just follow the white line.

What do you do for work?

I’m self-employed. I’ve been working in arcade games and casino gaming for about seven years.

Who has been influential in your ultrarunning career?

Joe [Fejes] was at the Wildcat 100 [my first 48-hour race] and at that time I think he was just coming off of his Vol State course record and when you win Vol State, you become king of the road. So that was “King Joe.” That was really cool, getting to hang out with Joe. I actually beat him, granted, he left because it started raining like crazy, so Joe Fejes is definitely an inspiration. Also, Dave Farnum is one of the biggest mentors in my life. We met 14–15 years ago.

Photo: Carl Laniak

You started ultras when you were 16 and now, you’re 25, still very young in the world of ultras. How have your experiences been affected by being a young runner in the sport?

When I first started, I was so young that I knew for a fact that when I went to 100-milers or 50-milers or multi-day timed events someone would take me under their wing. I used to show up to these races with nothing besides my shoes. Eventually, someone would be like, “Hey, you see that chair right there? Whatever you need, it’s yours.” It was definitely nurturing when I first started, and it was almost comedic. It was like, “Hey, where’s your parents? Are you lost?” I’m like, “No, I’m here to race.” A lot of people thought that was the coolest thing ever, because there is a sense of rarity to see someone who’s 16 doing 100-milers and above. Nowadays, if you log onto the Vol State or HOTS [Facebook] page, they love to give me grief. Like, “Addison can only do these doubles so fast because he’s young, and he can recover quicker than us old people,” but then other people jump in, like, “Well, that doesn’t make sense, because you don’t hit your ultra prime until your mid-40s.” But they’re all just poking fun because I’m young.

Here are some rapid-fire questions to close it out:

Favorite pre-race meal? Plain pasta noodles or pepperoni pizza

Favorite in-race fuel? Peanut butter and crackers

Favorite race you’ve done? HOTS. The course is different every year, and you literally don’t know where you’re going until 12 hours before the race starts. So not only are you questioning where you’re going, but once you find out, then you have to take up 2 more hours of your precious sleep time to try to coordinate some type of plan.

Favorite thing to listen to when you run? Here I go again, showing my age. I listen to cartoons, like South Park. That or just music—80s, 90s, rap or alternative.

Favorite weather to run in? Fall

Anything else you’d like to share? I just started a running podcast—it’s called the Pickle Podcast.