About Jen

My story

I started running consistently in 2013. I had tried running before then, but it just never stuck. In fact, it felt terrible, and I hated it! It wasn't until my husband Ryan started trail running (as opposed to road running) that I began to build some real interest. I remember sitting in a field of wildflowers near an aid station at the Bighorn Trail Run in Wyoming. Ryan was running the 52-mile race that year, and we were waiting for him to come through. As we waited, I saw all kinds of people coming down the trail. There were people of various shapes, sizes, ages, and builds. I was so impressed with every single person I saw out there working hard to achieve big goals. I started to think things like, "If they can do it, maybe I can too!" 

We had recently moved to a small town in Minnesota and were lucky enough to live near a state park with a wonderful trail system. Once I discovered that it's okay to walk (hike) in trail running, I decided that I would give it a try! Ryan talked me into registering for my first ever trail race, Afton 25K, in 2014. The picture on the left (or above on mobile) shows us crossing the finish line together, with me completing the 25K and Ryan the 50K. It was so hard! And I wanted more!

From then on, I was hooked. Over the next several years I ran more 25K and 50K races. After we moved to Colorado in 2020, I began to start dreaming of running 50 miles and 100 miles! Since then, I've completed multiple 50-mile races and in March 2024 I completed my first 100-mile race!