DYLAN BARRERA

- Elite Ultra-Trail Marathon Runner

- Co-Founder of Seek Connections Inc.

- Cognitive Coach & Kundalini Yoga Teacher

- MSWM  | Equities & Derivatives Trader

Let's begin with the name "hedgedathlete." It comes from a deep desire to take calculated risks to foster my personal growth in life, all the while excelling as an Ultra Trail Marathon Runner.

We all have the ability to achieve anything we desire in this world—anything and everything. This belief has led me to become an extremely ambitious individual with nothing getting in my way of accomplishing all of my goals. My mind is fixed on aspirations far greater than what I am currently pursuing. I love being able to set new standards for myself and seeing what can be done. One of the reasons I am who I am today is from the simple phrase, "if you can do it, I can do it." We all look up to someone in our life for whatever particular way, and it's my calling to be that someone for someone else. I love helping other people and being a humble-source of inspiration. You can change the world, one person at a time. you might never know who's life you're changing, but they will thank you endlessly. 

There are three things I absolutely love doing: trail running, self-development, and being a leader. As a competitive ultra-runner, I spend a majority of my time training for ultra-trail races nationwide. I'm always looking to challenge myself, to get better. For instance, I recently (9/23/23) completed my second 50-mile trail race this year (2023), clocking in a time 10% (13:20:00 hours) better than my previous race. It feels really good to put in the work on something completely controllable by yourself and seeing the results of your actions. It's what leads me to challenge myself even more. With five ultra-marathons this year (two 50Ks, one 40 Miler, and two 50 Milers) and six ultras since I started last year in September, I am preparing myself to run my first 100K trail race in April 2024. It's a distance I've been looking into since 2020 but wasn't ready for until now. The question I always ask myself is: what's next? How can i improve? This sport allows me to do just that. 

Self-development. I've spent a lot of time in this space. Back in 2018, I graduated from an 8-month Kundalini teacher course, earning my title as a certified teacher. For those who don't know, Kundalini Yoga is the yoga of awareness, a practice that tunes you into your inner being and allows you to grow in the most profound way. My love for this spiritual practice launched me on an even deeper journey, achieving over 1000 days of meditation, every single day. It's said that when you do something for 1000 days, you become a master at it. I wouldn't say I'm a master at meditating, but I do have to say that the practice has allowed me to control my mind in ways I never knew were possible. It's incredible! So incredible, in fact, that I allocate a part of time on coaching people on how to control their minds and manifest their reality.

Being a leader is a natural instinct for me. I love being able to create structures and teams and allow projects to come to fruition. It's really important to understand the impact you have on other people and use that as motivation to grow with others, together. Structuring life and creating disciplines for myself and others has led me to develop this love for organizing my life properly.I understand that life is sometimes about uncertainty, but if you can have a plan of action every day, things in your life will ease and flow at your command, as I said, we control our reality.

:)