Athlete of the Week: Jenny Hansen - Ironman

While most traditional Athlete of the Week articles begin with an introduction that highlights a Hopkins varsity athlete who has achieved something spectacular throughout the course of the current season, this week’s edition will be slightly different. While not an official Hopkins varsity athlete, our honoree this week is more deserving of this award than is even possible to put into words. She has shown tremendous strength, determination and courage in one of the most tasking events ever created by mankind mentally, physically and emotionally. This event is the Ironman. Our award-winner has now completed two Ironman triathlons in her young career and is looking forward to taking on a third in late September approximately one hour away from Homewood Campus in Maryland. For our readers who are unfamiliar with the details of an Ironman race, the event consists of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and finishing the day with a marathon (26.2 miles), accumulating to an astonishing grand total of 140.6 miles. Our honoree winner has already completed two in her lifetime, one in the midst of high school and a second on August 24 in Louisville, Ky. With another race on the horizon, she is more excited to race on behalf of the Blazeman Foundation. Without further ado, The News-Letter would like to honor Jenny Hansen with Athlete of the Week.

We had the chance to catch up with the Ironman Queen and ask her about her unbelievable journey towards finishing her quest to become an Ironman.

The News-Letter: First of all, we just want to congratulate you on your accomplishments! What has been your greatest source of motivation as you’ve competed in your Ironman races?

Jenny Hansen: Thank you so much! It’s so surreal that the second one is already finished! One large source of motivation was from fellow competitors of the Ironman, who constantly told me, “You go girl!” and, “Wow! I wish I had been competing in these when I was your age!” It was certainly a lot more support than I could’ve ever anticipated, and it reminded me of why I was competing in this race. Additionally, the external support from my close friends and family, especially my mom, was unbelievable. They traveled around throughout various parts of the bike and run so that I could see them at various mile markers. My mother’s support, as my mentor and my coach, has been unwavering throughout this process, and the friends who have continuously supported me and motivated me to do the best that I can have made this journey one of the greatest of my life.

N-L: Out of the three sections of the race, which did you find to be the hardest part the first time around, and did it change for your second race?

JH: For me during my first race, I was running strong up until the last five and a half miles of the run, in which I struggled tremendously. My energy levels were shot, and my mind and body weren’t on the same page, regardless of how I tried to motivate myself. While I was very happy with my finishing time, I knew going into the second race that it was going to be challenging, but I refused to let the last five miles deter me from finishing strong. I prepared myself to go harder on the bike for the second race and found a better rhythm when I transitioned to the run. The aid stations were especially helpful for rehydration and cooling down. The extra preparation for those last five miles made my second race more successful, and I was itching to get to mile 20. The hospitality of the crowd and the support that they showed for all of the competitors made the last stretch of the race feel like a breeze.

N-L: When did you begin preparing for you race in Louisville?

JH: I knew that I wanted to compete in a Nike Half Marathon, so I spent from January and April to get a lot faster and stronger on my run. I felt incredibly comfortable after that race, and my endurance continued to improve. And I actually looked forward to running workouts. At the end of the school year, my training switched to being bike-heavy, and I continued to swim on a consistent basis, lengthening my time in the water each time I swam. I focused on building up the bike-mileage as much as I could. Each successive week, I continued to increase my mileage by 10-mile increments on the bike while also continuing to increase the number of miles I was running. It was important to be consistently working on all three aspects of the race, but biking and high-interval strength training ended up being what I focused on the most towards the end of May. The longest training I had in a single day was an 80-mile bike ride plus a 16-mile run, and it felt like a tremendous accomplishment at the time leading up to race day.

N-L: Throughout this entire process, you must have made several memories along the way. Would you mind sharing some of the moments that stand out the most to you?

JH: To begin, as I mentioned above, I saw my mom around the course a lot, and occasionally she would run a mile with me and keep me updated about all of the people who were posting on the Facebook event so much so that she had to charge her phone three times throughout the day. Close friends continuously posted, but to see some of my oldest coaches, friends and mentors post on the wall and have my mom there telling me about their support was so exciting and uplifting and motivational. I felt truly humbled during that moment of the race in Louisville, despite the humid and hot weather. Another moment was at mile five of the run, when I heard the song “Turn Down For What,” which was perfect timing. As a competitor, I wasn’t allowed to bring an external music player along with me on the race, so having spectators blast music for us all of the time was awesome and kept my spirits high. Finally, when I turned down one of the final blocks and saw the last few blocks of the race and the finish line ahead of me, I just couldn’t help breaking out in a giant smile. My stride felt strong, and nothing could’ve bothered me in that moment. All of the fans kept shouting, “Keep on smiling! You’re almost there! You go 179!” (179 was my race registration number). Just seeing the finish line, it felt so surreal hearing everyone cheering, and I will forever relive that moment in my head and taking a picture with the biggest grin on my face.

N-L: Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us, Jenny! Best of luck with your race on the 27th! We’ll be rooting for you, and you’re an amazing role model!

JH: Thanks for interviewing me and giving me a chance to share my story!

We wish Jenny the best as she continues to prepare over the next few weeks for the third Ironman race of her career. While she has accomplished so much already, she has aspirations of making this race her best performance yet. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on her when she races on the 27th.