ABOUT ME 

Hi! I’m Carolyn Reiko Hoover, I’m 28 years old and I’m from Bethesda, Maryland. 

Growing up my whole life I have been an athlete, student, model, influencer, and ambassador. From these different facets of my life, I’ve worked for many different brands, companies, experiences, and even as an ambassador for the US and Japanese Governments. Through my family, travels, and multicultural studies, I’ve learned to speak English, French, Japanese, and even a little bit of Spanish.

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to travel and see the world. As most kids do, I started playing sports at a young age and wanted to be a professional soccer player when I grew up after training with Julie Foudy & Mia Ham of Team USA. When I turned 14 years old, I was playing in my first highschool soccer game and unfortunately broke my hip as I stepped in for a shot. This sudden impact and surprise change on my body altered my athletic career for the rest of my life. 

Being the strong willed person that I am, I refused to let this injury hold me back. Even though I knew I couldn’t move the same way that I used to, I found a way to push myself after going through extensive training, rehab, and physical therapy… My new found love for marathon running and triathlons. And it wasn’t until my first marathon during my freshman year of college at Duke, that I realized that I could utilize my athletic ability to actually travel the world and race at the same time, all while making a positive impact on the communities that I visited. 

Since starting my racing journey, I have ran 34 marathons across 3 continents, 6 countries, and 12 U.S. states. At 18, I ran my first marathon, entering and running at the youngest legal age during the time. On my 19th birthday in 2017, I competed in the New York City Triathlon, which was my first full triathlon and required me to swim through the Hudson River. I ended up being the youngest female ever to finish the race, earning first place in my age group and qualifying me for Nationals, placing me onto Team USA for Triathletes. At 19, I finished first in my age group for the RDU marathon and officially started my World Marathon Major Journey. For Team USA, I have won 2x Silver World Triathlete Championship medals, as well 4x Gold National Championship medals, all over the span of 7 different races over 4 years, across 2 continents and 5 different countries. By 2019, I was the youngest female to finish the 2019 Maryland Ironman at 21 years old, with a total distance of 140.6 miles, including a 112 mile bike ride, 26.2 mile marathon run, and a 2.4 mile swim.

It seems so crazy to have accomplished all of this in such a short amount of time, but after years of hard work and dedication to training for these races, I couldn’t just stop there and recently finished my 31st marathon in Maui in April 2025. And through all of this, my social media presence has grown and I have been able to turn my life long passions into my career: Racing, Traveling, and being an ambassador for the things I love most.

“So what’s next?”

7 marathons, in 7 continents, in 7 days. And then the Olympics.

These are the goals I have set for myself in the near future. With over 34 marathons, triathlons, and ironmans under my belt, I know I can do anything I set my mind to, and with my online presence I want to show everyone around the world that they can too. I’m so fortunate to be given this platform and opportunity to share my experience with the world and I hope that I can inspire people to follow their passions and never give up on their dreams. Because if a girl with a once broken hip can be the youngest female ever to finish the Maryland Ironman, New York City Triathlon, run 31 marathons around the world, and travel to 40 different countries solo… then ANYTHING is possible.