www.negociosnow.com
46 February 2017
Ultramarathoner
On Nov. 26, 2016, Edna Jac-
keline Vazquez became the first
Mexican-American woman to
complete the Four Deserts race
series by Racing the Planet. The
annual series consists of 155-
mile routes through the world's
most arid desert (Atacama, Chi-
le) the windiest desert (Gobi,
China), the oldest desert (Nami-
bia, Africa) and the coldest de-
sert (Antarctica). Completing all
four is one of the most deman-
ding and extreme achievements
in ultramarathon running.
For her accomplishment,
the Red de Talentos, UNAM
Chicago and Raiza Mendoza
granted Vazquez the Outstan-
ding Achievement Award in
July 2016. They also recognized
her commitment to promoting
education in the communi-
ty and her work spreading the
word about the importance
of organ and tissue donation
within the Latino community
for the nonprofit organization
Gift of Hope.
Vazquez grew up in Monte-
rrey, Mexico, participating in ba-
llet, gymnastics, swimming and
basketball before discovering
her love of ultramarathon run-
ning, which she has been doing
for 19 years through the varied
terrains of Europe, Asia, Africa,
the Americas and Antarctica.
Her high school education at
the University of Monterrey was
based in systems of automation
and computer language pro-
gramming. She then went on to
get her bachelor's in higher edu-
cation and human relations. She
continued her studies with spe-
cialties in social psychology, hu-
man behavior and work/sports
psychology from the University
of Seville in Spain, before getting
her MBA from Robert Morris
University in Chicago.
Edna Jackeline Vazquez, 35
A champion ultramarathoner
"T
he preparation, training and
desire to overcome have
been the keys to reach my dreams."
