- UESCA Ultrarunning Coach
Coach Alex Ball was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2018, after graduating from Michigan Technological University with a degree is Materials Science and Engineering, Alex accepted a job with Honeywell Aerospace. This job brought him to the state of South Carolina, where he still lives and runs today.
Alex’s introduction to running was fairly traditional. Alex played team sports all through elementary and middle school, but quickly found out that football was not his sport.
His parents suggested he try running cross country during his freshman year in high school with his older brother, with the stipulation that Alex couldn’t quit in the middle of a season. So his freshman year of high school Alex began running competitively.
Little did they know, they created a monster.
Alex quickly improved as a runner, and by the time he was a senior in high school, was very serious about his training. At one point, Alex’s cross country team volunteered at the Grand Rapids marathon, which made him really want to run a marathon.
After graduating high school, Alex started running with his XC coach’s son, brother, niece, and a few other family members who were all training for longer distances, and was immediately hooked.
Alex ran his first half marathon in 2013 before his freshman year of college. His first full marathon came one year later at the same race (Marquette marathon). And then the rest, as they say, was history.
Alex soon took the leap into the ultramarathon world, running his first 50k in 2015.
Since then, he has run many ultras, including the No Business 100 (twice), North Country Trail 50 miler, and Conquer the Rock 50K, among others.
“One of my biggest loves about the sport of running is the community, and I hope to help others flourish in this community as they train for whatever goals they set!
My goal with anyone I coach is to help them realize their potential, and help them to knock down those barriers that will make them a better runner! ” – Coach Alex