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Reimagine Running | Interview with Jenny Westwood S1E6 · Reimagine Running

• Coach Ryan Head: Running is a strange thing. Some people find it on the sidewalk at sunrise. Some find it deep in the mountains chasing daylight. And some of us find it when life feels heavy and running is the only thing that makes sense. For some, starts with the 5k. For others, it's a marathon. And for a few, it's a hundred miles that changes everything. But somewhere between the first step and the finish line, something happens. Running stops being about pace or distance or medals. It becomes about purpose. I'm your host Ryan Head. All right everybody, welcome back to Reimagine Running. I am your host Ryan Head. I am so excited have another episode here to share one of my best friends in the running community. Again, as I always joke, I think everyone is my best friend. Eventually gonna have someone on that doesn't know me that well, so then I can just be like, they're just a good friend. But I excited for today's episode. Hey runner, thanks for hanging out with me today on Reimagine Running. I'm grateful you're here and a part of this great podcast. I just want to remind you, if you ever feel stuck and unsure or just want someone in your corner, I do offer coaching for runners at any distance, whether you're starting out with the 5K or you're chasing some crazy big goals and dreams like the marathon or the 100 miler, I'd love to help you. Please reach out and I'd be happy to set up a time to go over options and plans and goals with you. Well, until next time. And this is Reimagine Running, the podcast dedicated to talking about why we run. Each episode, we'll sit down with runners from every background, trail runners, road runners, beginners, veterans, and talk about their journey. Not just where they've run, but why they run. Because for many of us, running didn't just change our fitness. It helped us find clarity, healing, discipline, hope, and sometimes even ourselves. Whether your why was born on a short loop around the block or somewhere deep inside a long, lonely mile. Take care of yourself, trust the process, stay disciplined and keep chasing that Y. we have someone who, to me, I got to know a few years back and she has come ⁓ so far in her journey. She's been through lot in her life. She has someone who really in a lot of ways has the exact same mentality about running that I do. She gets excited about it as much as I do. ⁓ This podcast is for you. Welcome to re-imagine running. We love to talk about it periodically and it's just just a blast. So I'm excited to bring Jenny Westwood on Jenny welcome to the podcast. let me give you the intro to Jenny So Jenny is born and raised in Utah is from the American Fork area. ⁓ She started her endurance journey as an avid hiker before picking up road running and like many runners who discover the mountains eventually made the switch to trails. She's been trail running for the past three years and completed her first 50 miler last year. being at the Antelope Island Buffalo 50 slash 100 race which I was at as well. It was so fun to root her on. Beyond racing she loves crewing and sporting her friends at their big events. We're gonna talk about that today. She's still working on convincing her husband to join her out there. That's okay, I'm in the same boat. My wife will never join me. I already know that, but that's awesome. ⁓ for now, she's grateful for the city's support at the finish line of her milestone races. So Jenny, welcome to the podcast. Jenny: Thank you. I'm excited to be here. think it's going to be a good time. Coach Ryan Head: Awesome, awesome. Well, I'm excited to have you as well. It's so funny because like sometimes I get like almost a little too excited when I jump on these episodes. I'm like, I want to talk about like 10,000 different things with you because I'm like thinking about like all the times you've crewed me but then I think about all the races you've done and then I think about like the training and the coaching I've done with you and like then I think about like all the other adventures we have so I'm like which direction do I go but I think we keep it very simple keep it like I do for most runners. First off, let's just talk about you. Tell me a little bit more about you. Maybe something that we didn't have in there, whether it's your childhood, maybe it's the last 10 years of your life, whatever it is, why don't you tell us a little bit more about you ⁓ so listeners can get to know you better. Jenny: Of course. Something that I laugh at now, but probably back then ⁓ friends would roll their eyes. When I was hiking, so ⁓ Ryan said, I started out we'll probably dive into it more, but I picked up hiking after I went through a divorce. So it became like my resource for mental sanity. Every week I'd go hiking, start hiking with friends. But on those trails, we would pass trail runners all the time. And I would make the comment without a doubt. Anytime they passed me, was like, trail running is so stupid. They just hike uphill and you run downhill and they call it trail running. And so I used to kind of bag on trail runners for quite a long time. And part of that was maybe because my twin brother would trail run. And so like I needed, I needed a way to feel better about myself. But I would bag on trail runners a ton and it wasn't until I had a running injury while I was a road running that Coach Ryan Head: Yeah. Jenny: I was recovering by just walking the trails and while I was walking the trails that's when I was like, ⁓ turns out I like this. Why have I not been running on the trail? So after years of bagging on trail runners, turns out I was just going to be one of those people too. So there's times when if I see people on the trail and they're hiking and I'm on my jog, I'm not running fast. like, ⁓ yeah, I remember when I used to bag on myself here. ⁓ Coach Ryan Head: I love it. I love it, I love it, that's awesome. No, it's funny that you say that, because that's how I feel about bikers on the trail. I'm like, stupid bikers. I love you bikers, Preston, you know I'm talking to you right now. Love you brother, but sometimes you guys drive me crazy. I'm sure you're gonna rip me a new one when you hear this episode. But yeah, I still try to be nice, but sometimes I'm like, ugh, those bikers. So I get you, I get 100 % see where you're coming from. Jenny: if I love it. And like, even think further back and we'll probably dive into this even more, but I started running around high school years and I wasn't on track. Well, I kind of started in track. It was an excuse to stay after school to hang out with friends and I would skip track to just spend time with friends. But in high school, a lot of my sisters are older than me. I come from a really big family. I've got 10 siblings, so. My older sisters, they picked up running ⁓ post having babies. That was their way to get back in shape. And so as they started their running journey, just a ⁓ training app, I started running with them ⁓ that was really cool. So my high school years, I got to do running with them and training and I did a half marathon then, put a pause on running for a long time while I was first married. I was married at 19. ⁓ She's a little crazy. Whoever convinced me that I should get married at 19, I don't know. But post-divorce was like, oh, you know, like want to get back into something I enjoy. And that's kind of when I realized I wanted to be outside more and switched over. Coach Ryan Head: It's all right, that's all right, I love it. That's awesome, that's cool. No, I get that. Man, there's so much to unpack with what you just shared. Because I love that you're like, it was an outlet for you in your life and kind of the direction of where things had gone. But I also love that you're like, this is something your sisters do as I'm gonna ask because it's just natural. We gotta ask this question. What do you think, what does your sisters think of you now with running? I mean, do you? Jenny: Yeah. Coach Ryan Head: Do any of them run crazy distances like you do? Jenny: No, and even like my first half marathon, even the story behind that, I had three sisters all training to do a half marathon with me. All three dropped out from injury. So of them, and I were training a lot together. All of them dropped out and I ended up running the half marathon by myself. So like my first race after all this training, I ran by myself. Two of them I think did like a redemption run. They like deferred their enrollment and did a later run. None of them have run any races since. None of them currently actively run. So appreciate them. They're very sweet. They're like, way to go, Jenny. You're crazy. I can't believe it. My mom's honestly the sweetest cheerleader, though. During my half marathon, and I will never forget this, it was kind of a road marathon, but it was on the Murdoch Canal Trail, so a paved trail along the roads. She, the night before, ⁓ chalked. multiple spots on the course, all these encouraging words. And so I had no idea I'm running this and I'm that's really sweet message. And then I get to like two or three messages in and it's my name. And I was like, ⁓ my goodness. So sisters think I'm crazy. My mom probably does, but more than anything, she's just like the ultimate cheerleader. She'll just like send me sweet things. She'll watch all my races if there's tracking. So I love it. Coach Ryan Head: That's super cool, that's awesome. It sounds like you have a great foundation there, especially with your mom and your sisters. Like you said, it's interesting because I have a brother that, I have two brothers that are really big into fitness. One is into running, he's done multiple marathons with me. And then I have one brother that's just into bodybuilding, he's in great shape, he looks fantastic, he's easier, stereotypical. I wanna say meathead, he looks great for. being in his mid-30s, he's just in fantastic shape. I got two brothers that I wish I could convince to end our running. So maybe one day Justin Michael will see if they even listen to this podcast. I doubt they do. I think I sometimes wonder if like, I don't want to give him any fuel with all his crazy running stuff. So that's okay. That's fine with me. But that's super cool. That's really awesome to hear your kind of that support group that you have with your family. Jenny: Look. Coach Ryan Head: and that they got your back. I know that that can be super helpful, especially when you're doing longer distances and what have you. I've just heard the same thing. I've heard a lot of people say that that's just awesome. My mom, she listens to a few of these episodes so far and she's always like, Ryan, you never say anything good about me. So mom, here's your good thing I'm gonna say about ya. know, my mom comes to, she used to come to every Ogden Marathon finish. don't. I think last year was the first time she didn't. I've done it now. will be my eighth year doing it. And she has come to every one of my hundred mile finishes besides one. You got to meet my mom this year. ⁓ I love her. she... ⁓ She loves to come to the finish line and cheer me on and she loves to get videos of it and so it is it makes a big impact and so I'm grateful. Love you mom. Thank you for being that support and you know being there at my races and I know you feel the same way about your mom and all those kind messages, so that's awesome Well cool. Well, let's jump into the second question same second question. I ask every single person out there So when did and know you've kind of alluded to already, but love for you to go a little bit deeper with it. When did running become what it is for you right now? Like what got you to this point that you're like, I it. ⁓ Because know that's how you are. Me and very similar. We talk about it all the time. is one of my consistent Marco Polo buddies. We Marco Polo all the time. Yes, I coach her, we're friends. talk about way more than just. running, which is awesome. It's good to have friends that ⁓ some stuff about business and relationships and everything else, so it's good. But anyways, yeah, would it become what it is for you? Jenny: Yeah, I would say... trying to think back when I would have, when I would like term it as started off and on for like, I don't know from 2019 to like 2021 off and on I would do running. I had like this old, old app, the couch to 5k app. And I would always turn that on and start running. But in 2022, I think is when it was, I was first trying like weightlifting. was like, let me just try and to the gym. Cause I never, never liked the gym. was mostly a cardio person. So I thought I'd try that. Coach Ryan Head: Mm-hmm. Jenny: my cousin started posting about her running journey like as she was training and she shared who her coach was and I was like you know what I think I should pick up I should get a coach like I like this enough let me pick it up I worked with Melody Bateman for coaching and the first time she just wrote me a plan to get there instead of like coaching me throughout she's like I'll write you a plan to train for your first half marathon And so I picked that up in 2022 and thought like, okay, I'm gonna, I'm just gonna get back into road. Had a thought about trail thought I'm gonna see what I can do if I can follow a plan, show up and just prove to my like adult self that I can still run what I did and what I did in high school. Like it was glory days, but I didn't even run that much for it to be glory days. But I like, I just at least got to do this again, show that I can repeat it. So back in 22, I think is when I'd say I started. Coach Ryan Head: That's awesome. I like you. never had a running coach most of my life and Melody was my very first running coach and I give her a lot of credit for getting me across my first 100 miler at Wasatch 100 in 2023. The shirt I'm wearing right here. So I her a lot of due for that one and a lot of credit. So that's awesome. And so yeah, so what's happened since then? Where has running kind of taken you, if you will? without giving away what you did last year. Where has running taken you over the past two or three years with some of the races and maybe some of your adventures? Jenny: Yeah, since then, after I ran that half marathon, I first thought, okay, cool. I did what I wanted to, which was at some point you move on past it, but it was like a ha ha kind of to my ex-husband, like, see, I could do that thing that you were judging me on. And after I did that, was like, okay, but now I think I should try something more. Like, okay, I did the half. How can I go beyond that? So. I told Melody, she, shout out to Melody, she had just had a baby and I'm over here like, okay, can we talk about another race? And I was like, I think I want to do a marathon. What does that look like? And that's when we started having her coach me more and through that, started to connect with people who were trail running and ultra running. so about like two months into my running journey to do a marathon, had a running injury. and put me out for like a month and I was trying to figure out like okay do I keep my marathon? What do I what am I supposed to do? All the questions that come up when you ever first have your like first injury with running and so like I kind of said before but started walking on the trails to enjoy it to just be outside and quickly pivoted to okay I don't want to do a road marathon I want to do a trail marathon so evolved from I'm just gonna try a half to, okay, yeah, let's try a trail marathon. I did the skyline marathon. That's the first time I think you and I had done a race where I saw you on the trail and I was like, this is it. Ryan's legit. already believed that. But if anyone knows that race, that race is like two times. We go steep twice. And I just remember, you'll remember that section where we're climbing up the second incline. And I'm like, I'm just, just going up here. And I was like, what did I sign myself up for? And here's my, here's my now coach coming up behind me about to pass me on the longer distance. And I'm like, what am I doing? What did I just get myself into? And quickly evolve from there into, well, let's look at the 50. Let's look at continuing this to go further. And how can I, how can I do more? What can I do? I gotta be, I gotta be an ultra runner. So. slowly made my way there. Coach Ryan Head: That's awesome. I remember that skyline, for me it was the skyline 55k. I know you had done the marathon distance. I it was a great distance for you to be training for and to practice your race ⁓ strategy whatnot. mean, at that point I think that was kind of what your big goal was maybe for ⁓ that And I remember me and you had left. the age station there in North Ogden divide and so we started climbing up. If anyone's ever done this trail you know exactly what we're talking about and try to do it on legs that are for you what would have been what mile 10, 12 maybe. Jenny: no, just say like halfway through the- for a marathon halfway through. In almost the long- Coach Ryan Head: Yeah, you're like mile 13. You leave North Ogden, you start going up to Lewis. It's chunky and it's like technical and it's just like two and a half, almost three miles of just this constant uphill. And question couple of life decisions ⁓ the whole time. I remember... ⁓ being so angry, because this is my second or third time I've done the race. I always use the Skyline 55K, which they're an awesome race. Clay's doing a great job with the race. I use that race as kind of my springboard to say, hey, where you at for Wasatch and Bear, and you ready for those. I'm going up and I'm just grumpy, just like angry. I'm saying some not good words, and I come upon Jenny, and Right. Me and Jenny had been working together now for probably a few months at this point. Melody had needed to take a step back, which was totally awesome. We, we understood that she needed to take a step back. I threw my hat in the ring to some of her athletes and picked up a few of them to coach, from that point forward. Um, and you were one of them. And so, you know, I was like, yeah, I'll help you get to that 50, you know, to the, the skyline marathon. And I was doing the 55 K so just slightly different. distances, but when I knew you were legitimately good at trail running was coming upon you and you were so positive. We were probably like, we were probably like a mile and a half, maybe two miles up this just awful climb of at least like 2,200 feet or something. ⁓ you know, and you do this over again, two and a half miles, three miles. I mean, it's, it's incessant and it's burning your quads, it's burning your hammies. I mean, everything's on fire. Jenny: Thanks. Coach Ryan Head: And Jenny's just happy. I remember, again, ⁓ I'm supposed to be her coach, and I'm like, whoa, she's schooling me right now. Like, she has the positive attitude, and I don't. And remember her just being like, we got this, we're doing great. And I'm like, yeah. And in my head, I'm like, angry. And I'm like, I'm so tired of this bull crap, And I was like, and I remember just thinking, like, she's got it. Like, she's got the mentality for this. And. And I remember just thinking after that, I was like, she could do some special things with running with that mentality. So it was just one of those moments that I've never forgotten about you with Skyline. And it was eye-opening because even you taught me at that moment how you should act on a race that's difficult. Jenny: and thinking like I mean people who've done it it's so hot and little did I know like a little a couple miles after that on the downhill I struggled so bad learned a little bit more about hot spots and learned you know what the not a false peak but the this not what is it false summit and the zigzags back the switchbacks switchbacks going down Coach Ryan Head: False summits. Yeah, false summits. Jenny: I've never felt more deceived every time I turned thinking I would hit the bottom. I've gotta be at the bottom at this point. The switchbacks on the way down, like, I almost hated it more than going up, because I was like, where is the bottom of this mountain? Coach Ryan Head: That's so funny you say that. So episode before you, I run with Eric Sutterfield quite a bit and we were talking about that this morning actually on our run together about how he's like, dude, when you're running skyline and you're coming down Canyon and that zigzag and you're just like, when does this end? And for me, I don't really care about like the zigzag part. What I, what hurts for me is like what you said at the first ⁓ it's like, you almost feel like someone's turning the heat up. Like you're in an oven. Jenny: Yes. Coach Ryan Head: and someone just keeps going and you're just like, oh my gosh, and you feel it because right, the race is at, I don't know, 82, 83, 8500 feet in the air. So it's cooler up there. Even though it's the summer, it is cooler. But oh my word, when you start to come down windsurf gear, coming down to Pineview Dam, and it's like the temperature just skyrockets. So I get you. And many people have DNF'd with only four miles left there. at that last aid station. Jenny: Yes. Because you could see the dam as you zigzag and you're like, can I just jump far enough to get like, you know you can't but you just see it you're like, all I want to do is be in that dam and I'm over here taking this switch fast out. Coach Ryan Head: Oh man, and I can't tell you many times I've thought like on that last four miles, once you make it to that aid station there, the windsurfer aid station, and you're like, they're like four miles to the finish line, and you're basically on pavement or dirt the whole rest of the way. like you said, it's like 85, 90 degrees to the finish line. And you can see Pineview Dam, it's just right there to the right. I mean, this is, you're basically doing the Ogden Marathon course backwards, And so you're just looking at the dam right here and you're like, dude, I want to jump in that thing. Like the whole time you're like, I'm so hot. I want to go jump in it. And it's just right there because we're you're doing this the first weekend in August. Like it's not, we're not doing this in the fall or the spring. We're in the summer and it's hot. It's so hot. So that's awesome. That's fun memory. I'm glad you brought that up. It brings back fun memories. think that honestly, Skyline is a great race for anybody that's looking to. really kind of see if they're ready for maybe a 50-miler, for a 100-miler. It may be a little overkill for like a 50-miler, but I think it's still a good measuring stick to be like, you know, am I ready for some of the races in the fall of that year and if your heat training's been working for you. So that's awesome. Well, cool. Well, you've done awesome to kind of tell us more about how you got into trail running, kind your history of road running and whatnot. I'd love to jump into, ⁓ you know, of next for you. where has running since you did Skyline? Because I know you did that and then you've just been on a tear. Lots of races, lots of running. It leads to what happened last year. But yeah, where has things gone since then? Jenny: Yeah, and lot of people say this after a race. I remember my husband, Jonah, at the time he was just my boyfriend, not even fiance yet. He had the ring, this is a dumb comment, but he had the ring at that race. He did it I was dead. But we're driving home from the race and I was like, people do this distance twice. Like people do a 50 mile, I just did a marathon. like, people choose to do this twice and I'm... Coach Ryan Head: Mm-hmm. Jenny: dying over marathon. I'm like, Jonah, you don't have to worry. not going to do a 50 miler. was like, don't even worry. That's not going to happen. ⁓ all know what happened. I remember what not what got in my head, but at what point I was like, you know what, actually, that's what we're going to do next. Like, let's sign up for a 50 miler. But some point between the recovery of that marathon And the next couple months, because not intentionally, but I took the next couple months off, did a of road trips. I love solo traveling and like going on hikes. So I did a bunch of road trips down Pacific Northwest. And I think it must have been during that or before or after reaching out to you and said, okay, let's look at what 50 mile or we could do. ⁓ could we look at? What can we do? And when we decided or we talked through the Antelope 50 mile that was going to happen in March. And I was like, okay. We just raced the marathon in August and I was like, I don't know how much time it's gonna take. Like, dude, is that enough time if it's in March and we're in August? Like, are we gonna be okay? And I was thinking like, we gotta lock in. I had another big race that January and that was like my first ultra distance. I think it was 36 miles, 30 miles. was a, I can't remember how long it was, but it was a longer distance and I was. Coach Ryan Head: Yep. Jenny: That one shocked me. That one kind of scared me. was like, okay, this is what it feels like. I'm getting that. I'm starting to understand. But that's kind of what kicked off after the marriage. Coach Ryan Head: What happened at that race? share with our listeners. What happened? It was the Bears Ears, right? Wasn't that the race you did? Jenny: No, Ears was pre-marathon. So Bears Ears was 18 miles. This was cold water in Arizona. So I knew I wanted to do like a prep race before the 50 mile. We had talked about that. I didn't want to run on Red Rock. Like I could have done a Southern Utah, but I didn't want to run on like a Red Rock. So we were like, okay, what can we look at? I was willing to go out of state. So I was like, let's look at an Arizona race. Coach Ryan Head: That's right. Jenny: My, giving too many extra tidbits. I had been in Arizona the year or two before, had a really rough experience being in a summer internship. So I was like, you know what, let's go to Arizona. Let's, let's like rewrite that experience. I'll do a race there. I'm going to accomplish this. really great friend, Ashley, Melody's sister. She was willing to like, let me stay at their apartment and they hosted me. I was like, we're going to do great. a new distance, got to try out. not new fuel, but a better fuel plan and was in a state, in a place that I hadn't been since that experience. So I like, you know what? I'm all about processing a memory and healing. So I thought, I'm going to use this race. I'm just going to think about all those things and like get over it. And the first, first 10 miles of that race, I was going way too fast. I was feeling so good. It's a little lower elevation. There's no incline really. And I am just hooking on time. I was going so fast. remember I came in and it kind of the course is like a you have a small loop and then you come into the not aid station, but the the main area the corral and then you go out for a big loop and then you're done. So I remember doing like a six-mile loop. I was going so fast. I like Ashley was still there after she dropped me off and her husband was running a shorter distance. They were still there. I gave them some of my gear because it had warmed up. I remember texting you and I was like, am doing awesome. I've got my music. I feel great. Speaking of our awesome parents and our moms, my parents were following my tracking. They don't see the course. So they think I've come in and finished the race. no, not even have like, ⁓ like, hey, way to go. You're doing awesome. Like, not yet. Like, please don't tear me ⁓ But coming out of that. Coach Ryan Head: I love it. Jenny: I like, okay, I gotta slow down. I clearly am going way too fast. I hit the slightest of incline back home. That would probably not be bad. But back then I hit this incline and I thought, wait, I have overburnt myself. Like what am I about to do here? And I slowed down. I overconfident in thinking I'm gonna heal whatever issue I had in Arizona well on this race. And I remember, think I was Marco pulling you, telling you this. And ⁓ I you sent me back like, ⁓ hey, Maybe think about that for a second and I'm like full in it. Like, no, this is, this is my time. I'm doing this. And throughout the race, you're getting a little bit further and further away from service. So like you, I'd start to get spotty service and I remember feeling it at mile 18. And I don't know if it would, it probably was bonking. Cause like I, I was drinking water, but I wasn't really taking in food. wasn't doing a great job cause I was, I was just feeling on top of the world. fast I was going at first. And I remember I texted you about fuel. I can't remember what exactly I wrote about. I like, ⁓ thinking about these things. And I think I sent to Marco Polo, but I didn't know what hit. And I remember texting my husband, boyfriend at the time, Jonah, and I said, can you just tell me that you still love me if I don't finish this race? Like I was like, I'm not quitting yet. I just need you to tell me that you still love me. And that's ⁓ and if you remember, I just remember sending Coach Ryan Head: ⁓ yeah. Jenny: like a distress Marco Polo. And I was like, I don't know if I'm going to hear from him because I don't know if I have service. So tell me what you if you remember from that. Coach Ryan Head: Oh yeah, I remember all of this. I remember it very well. And I remember getting your message and you were like, and I remember it being to the extent of like, hey, I don't know how much more I can do. Like I'm not feeling good. I feel like I'm bonking. I haven't been taking any food in. And the moment you said that, I was like, all right, we gotta get through this message as quick as possible. I gotta tell her she's just gotta start eating. And like you said, your internet reception was not the best out there. Jenny: Thank Coach Ryan Head: So I just sent you this message that said, okay, get to your next aid station and all I want you to do is eat just like four to 500 calories of food. like, just get a ton in you. Like don't stop, I don't care what it is. And then what I want you to do is grab a baggie, someone's gonna have a little Ziploc bag for you, put a bunch of food in it and just start walking. And I want you to walk for like an hour and just eat food and don't stop. And I, the whole time, after I sent that to you, I remember I turned to my wife and I was like, I don't know what's gonna happen now with her because this is kind of the make or break part where it's tough because you're ⁓ you're hurting really bad. But I was like, I hope that she still has it in her to just keep moving. And I didn't know because I didn't hear back from you for a little while because of the internet. And so the whole time I'm just like, she may have DNF. And I'm not gonna lie, I had assumed you did. ⁓ Jenny: Yeah, ⁓ yeah. Coach Ryan Head: There's no internet reception and I was like, man, I'm just like, dang it, I ⁓ want her to DNF but I get it if she's in that bad of a place. And then yeah, you tell what happened. ⁓ Jenny: Well, yeah, on top of that too, an Apple Watch user ⁓ I don't have a newer version. Like I'm just running on this one day, I'm gonna have to upgrade, but it dies after five hours. So I hit the five hour mark a while ago. So Strava is also updating saying Jenny's finished her run. So you also like, it could clearly have been that I ended. So ⁓ remember you sent me like a really helpful Marco pillow and then you also like a little bit later we're like, Coach Ryan Head: Yep, you're right. Jenny: Hey, your Strava came up, it, you know, and you said it was so nice, but I was like, I mean, rightfully so, my watch just died. I'm like, everyone thinks I quit. Like, because I'm not. Coach Ryan Head: That's right. Yep, well I did, you're right because now that you sparked the memory, your Strava had uploaded it, you like smile 17, 18 or whatever, and I was like dang it, she quit, or she DNF'd, and that's fine, like at the end of the day, it happens, DNFing happens, and so I sent you like this long text message about how I think you're amazing and you're awesome, and like listen, use it as a learning opportunity, know, Buffalo One injured in 2023 was the same experience for me. And I did this whole sappy message. Well, we were all wrong. What happened? Jenny: Thank goodness. Shout out to her name, Shawna Green. I remember, I show up to aid station was like at mile 18 or 19. And nothing looks good. I'm like not hungry, but I'm like, I know I have to eat. I'm gonna take whatever's in here. I'm just gonna eat it. I'm gonna try to do it. So like. half-heartedly take food. I, this was the best run to learn all the right things to do after doing the wrong thing. Take some food and my walking pace is so slow, but I don't know. I just know I'm walking. Shawna Green comes up behind me, I had no idea who she was at the time, and she goes, hey you need a buddy? Are you okay? Like she just checked on me and she tells me later as we're starting to walk. She goes, I saw you back there. like slumped over walking so slow and she thought I'm gonna go, like I'm gonna go talk to her, I'm gonna go help her. So she's out here doing this race. She's out here on the race training for her walking pace. She's doing this race solely to improve her walking pace. I'm over here like, your pace just walking. And she's, I'm I'm gonna, you know, walk. So she basically, amazing, was like, no, I'm gonna stick with you this whole time if you wanna keep up with my pace. Coach Ryan Head: Whatever. Jenny: and she helped encourage me to like go a little faster. She's done a ton of ultra runs, huge distances, and she spent the whole rest of the race talking to me. And she, we would hit aid stations. stopped, I didn't have a good way to track my distance at this point. My watch is dead. She found it on the trail as she comes to get me. So now I get my watch back. No idea, I lost it. And she, the rest of the trip. trail race, we at every aid station should be like, here's what you do. We're like five minutes before we even show up to the aid station. She goes, you gotta think about this. Okay, how much water in your flask? Which flask is electrolytes? Okay, when you get to the aid station, which food are you gonna grab? Okay, now how long are we gonna be at the aid station? What are we gonna do? And I just had never, I had come from road, I had come from distances where you could just skate by with crappy nutrition. So I like. just had not experienced an efficient aid station and she's over there like, this is what you think, this is what you do. So helpful, so amazing. She's telling me like the way that she like paces herself and the speed she's going. And I remember thinking like, I have to keep up with her because if I don't like, I can't do this solo anymore. Like I am slugging through. I just remember we're going her walking pace and she's just coached me through the whole thing. Okay, she goes, you see that person's hat? the white sweat marks, that's because they're not drinking off electrolytes. They're like sweating it out. need to, and she's just teaching me these things as we're going. And I'm like, well, am I gonna like, are we gonna do this? just a sweet lady, just. to take me under her wing and be like, no, no, you're gonna finish this race. I'm gonna help you. As I'm over there like telling you my coach, telling Jonah like, you're gonna love me, right? And I'm gonna be okay. It's gonna be fine. yeah, learned what bonking was, learned you can't solve all of your life problems in one run. And you got to figure out an efficient station strategy and a successful nutrition plan. So that race definitely taught me a lot and was like, ⁓ okay. This is really what it looks like to be an ultra. Coach Ryan Head: I still remember you come in like sending me a message and you're being like, I'm still the race. And then you sent me another one saying like, Hey, I just finished. And I was just so proud of you. I was like, incredibly proud of you for like pushing through the hard times. I didn't know anything about Shawna at this time. you were like, I met this really awesome person. I'll have to tell you more about it. But you're like, at the end of the day, you're like, I was able to stick through, I did something hard and I was just so proud of you. was like, you know what, that's what it's all about. This is what ultra running is. know, I'm never, I'm never going to advocate for someone to put themselves in a dangerous situation. Like never that. Like you, if, if, if it's time to pull out, it's time to pull out. Right. But you know, if you're like, I just, you know, I'm not feeling the best and I'm just kind of want to quit and I don't really have a good reason. You know, to me, I'm like, okay, well that's where you got to hunker down because this is where it's made. You know, you got to do the hard things to build up that mental fortitude. And just be able to push through. So that's awesome. Well, I want to shift gears just for a second with With your races because your races up to this point were awesome They were all building. I knew we were building a foundation for you to Make you feel really comfortable again. You just did this ultra you basically I mean, yes, it wasn't technically an ultra for skyline, but it was still a marathon still Lots of 7,000 feet, whatever it was, some crazy amount. You've done two hard races. Why? Why would even do any of this? ⁓ Like, I it, right? You're like, ⁓ I like do this ⁓ with my but your sisters, for lack of a better term, they dumped you. So you're on your own now. You've been through your own personal struggles and things in life. Why? Why do you even, why do you do this? Why? ⁓ Why even continue to push yourself like this? Jenny: Yeah, and I'll give the evolution and then you could choose if you keep it all. But I think you're right. Like for me, my Y started as a way to connect with my family, especially because there was this age gap. It's the seven girls, five year gap and then the last four kids, the way to connect with my sisters, well, they were already like. different life stage, having kids, I got to connect with them. And I think that's why I kept it. And my first why getting back into it was probably like, prove to myself and ha ha to my ex husband, like, yeah, guess what? I can do this and I can do it right. Like, you don't have to judge me for what I'm doing. I'm going to do this. And once I kind of hit those accomplishments of like proving something wrong, was like, okay, well, now what? What is I'm going to do with it? And I will go into the psychology side of it is what I'd say. If you've ever heard of the therapy term EMDR, it's like a modality to process trauma. But the idea is when experience trauma, usually in sleeping stage, your REM stage, your eyes do like a rapid eye movement, you process the trauma or you stuff it down. You could replicate that by doing EMDR. and you do that type of therapy to like reprocess trauma or to heal so you don't have PTSD. But what a lot of people know about it is like it's an eye thing. You can also do that with like bilateral simulation. So sometimes you'll have like a buzzer in each hand. You could click pens. I was doing therapy, had done EMDR for like parts of my divorce and something my therapist told me, she goes, you know that there are some patients, some clients who will walk on a treadmill to do EMDR. And she's telling me this because I was telling her about all the hiking I've done. And she's like, you've been naturally like doing this, whether you're just talking with friends or on your own solo, like you've been kind of like helping process through things, whether that's intentionally or just through that. as I thought through that and as she was telling me, I was like, ⁓ that makes so much sense why I like the movement, why I like the hiking or the running is. I just get to clear my head and I remember thinking, okay, well if I want to stop paying for therapy, which I didn't, I kept therapy long around way too long, but I thought if I want to stop therapy, I could just, I could just run. I could do this. so ⁓ I think about my why now, there is a lot tied to like mental health or it's my clarity that running makes it so I can be sane the rest of the week. Not even that, sane for like the next at least eight hours of the work day. And Coach Ryan Head: Yeah. Yeah. Jenny: Even to this day, Jonas says it multiple times, but he goes, if I'm ever considering not running for the day, I'm like, it's just, it's been such a rough day and I didn't fit it in the morning. He goes, yeah, but do you remember how you feel after you run? He goes, you'll always feel better. He's over there like, you want to do this? And I'm like, yes, you're right. But I would say now my, my why at this point is to keep myself mentally sane, but also cause I know I'm a better person. Like I'm a better person. I can. I've built confidence in myself knowing that like I can, we can do hard things, you do a hard race, but like you could do hard things and running every day like shows me that continually. Like I'm gonna, I can tackle whatever it is that's ahead of me, even if it only lasts for like eight hours of the mentality and then I need another run to make it through. Coach Ryan Head: Yeah, no, I love that. And as I've always said, you know, one of my favorite things to do is just take that ultra mindset that I've developed and apply that to other aspects of my life. I think you hit it right on the head because there's much to how you work through tough races that is, you know, just like that's like I mean, I've said it before, like, ⁓ you know, an ultra marathon, whatever time it takes for people, 36 hours, whatever time, you know, usually I'm around that. It's a lifetime in 36 hours. You have your highs, you have your lows. You have the times where you're wanting to quit. You have the times where you're like, man, I'm on cloud nine. Can't wait to see my crew. Good things are coming. Like, this is awesome. You have the times where you're crying. You have the times where you're laughing hysterically because of just the silliest of jokes. It's just a lifetime. But that's the beauty of vulture running is I think it really does help us with processing life because life can be complicated. And I appreciate you sharing what you did about just kind of your divorce and how you process that. And I know a lot of times that can be tough for people. I've never been through divorce, knock on wood. It doesn't happen. I hope it doesn't happen. But I know that it can be difficult for people and at times you question a lot of things about yourself, you question a lot of things about everybody's actions involved so on and so forth. But at the end of the day, you know, and I know this is easier said than done and ⁓ free to correct me with what I'm about to say. You are, because you've lived it, I have not. What's happened in the past has happened in the past. You can't change that. We can't rewind the clock. We can't hop in a movie time machine and ⁓ go back and it. We can't. So what's happened in the past has happened. What you need to do is you need to learn from that and move forward. ⁓ feel like that's what I try to do with a lot in my life, whatever that is. And I'm like, listen, I can't change that my right knee has been reconstructed twice. I wish it hadn't happened. mean, sometimes I wish I'd go back and be like, would I play football again? I don't know. But it's made me who I am today. And I guess I got to be grateful for that because maybe I wouldn't have found ultra running. Maybe I wouldn't have gone into HR. Maybe I wouldn't have ⁓ ⁓ the dad I am to my daughters or the husband to my wife. I don't know, maybe all of this was meant to be for some reason. I'm not saying that it was predestined this way, maybe because of the way things fell, it fell this way. So I just appreciate that because I think your experiences and some of maybe the hard times that you've experienced has put you in this position to be a runner, to be an ultra runner, to be lining up to do. what you did in 2025 and what you're planning to do in 2026 and to go through some pretty tough things. And you have continued to go through some tough things, which is just awesome because you're ⁓ And I think, again, not saying that that was necessarily learned from running ⁓ races, but that I kind of think it did too. I don't know. Yeah. I mean, what's your thoughts with that? Jenny: Yeah, I feel like you nailed that really well. The resilience built, the idea that you can process, you can problem solve outside of going on a run. But for me, I'm gonna solve way more problems in my head on a run. I'm gonna not question life in a bad way, but think about, am I happy with what I'm doing in life? Do I like the job I'm at? going on in my relationship? What could I do better at? What could I fix? not often but the amount of times i might go on a run post-argument or argument that happened like this is gonna drive me nuts but guess what i'm gonna run i've got my my laughs because he asks me all the time like what's on your playlist i've got a playlist called big mad it is just a bunch of female artists singing angsty songs that is like if i'm listening to that ⁓ don't to me ⁓ i'm out some stuff but that's like a this is my playlist ⁓ yeah Coach Ryan Head: Don't, yeah, don't share it about your playlist. That's one of my last questions So please don't. ⁓ get to that lightning round I'm very excited to hear this. This will be really fun. So anyway, sorry, continue. Jenny: Thanks No, but yeah running just it builds that resilience that you realize like you can figure it out and I think that's a lot of it like with work with personal life those are things that can consume a lot of time. I planned a wedding last year. The amount of like wedding planning I thought about on my run where I feel like I solved things or made something more efficient for me there's just like so much you can process or figure out and that resilience build like yeah. Sometimes like, you know what, I'm just gonna stick through this. I'm gonna figure this out. And instead of being like, I just don't know. I'm like, well, I didn't know about that 30 mile race and I made it. I made it happen slowly, but we made it happen. Coach Ryan Head: Yeah, that's awesome. I think it's a good natural transition into your first, if you will, longer-distance ultra in the spring of 2025. What did you do? Jenny: I ran that 50-miler out on Antelope Island. I always say, I think it's the Buffalo Run or I say the Antelope Run and I'm always kidding you're wrong. That run on Antelope Island in March, that one. Coach Ryan Head: Yeah. Yeah, it's the Buffalo 50 or Buffalo 100 depending on what distance you do. But I agree, I always say Antelope Island because when people, say Buffalo, I think sometimes people are like, is that like in Wyoming or up in Montana, Yellowstone? I think they get confused and I'm like, okay, I'll just say Antelope Island. It's easier because that's Utah The big island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake, So that's awesome. How did that go? How did that race go for you? Jenny: would the run went pretty well. For my first 50-miler, I feel like I gotta learn so much. Going into the race, I started noticing some issues with my shoes and was thinking, okay, I got them a month before, like I needed to re-up my shoes. I needed to get new ones that tried to have gone down, got the exact same brand, but I felt like, okay, I need to break these in. So I've been trying to break them in. Noticed a couple issues, had some solutions for the race and thought, okay, this is gonna go well, we're gonna figure it out. Throughout the race, started to realize that it was, should have just not tried to force these shoes on me. I started to a little bit mess up my form and about mile 20, ended up walking most of the rest of the race. injury, from pain, ⁓ I finished it and got it under 14 hours, I think is what it was, and I was like, for my 50 mile, I'll take it, I'll take whatever. ⁓ There's any elevation on that, but even walking it, was still impressed at just being able to go that distance. Coach Ryan Head: That's awesome. I was out there with you, obviously. I was running the 100 miler. And I remember getting your message that you were coming through the finish line. And I remember I, at that point, had made it almost to the ranch house again, which was mile 61. And I remember, I think maybe I'd even left. And I remember just being like Joe, because Joe was with me at the time. And she's just like, what's up? I'm like, was like, Jenny just finished a 50 miler and she's like, are you kidding? And you know, Joe, and she's just like, so happy for you. I'm so happy. I'm like getting emotional. Like I'm like, yes, like she did it. Because you know, we'd pass each other what once or twice out there, maybe more than that when we were running ⁓ and you strong. You look strong. You know, thing that I always will attribute to you on races is that you really do do the plan. One thing that I know is if you're like, if I want to get good at this, I know I need to be consistent and I got to do what Ryan sets up for ⁓ the training and training program. And I've seen that countless times now. You know, we've been working together for a little bit of time and like it's so fun to see because you've you've naturally had to take some breaks which it's been good like you've taken a break when you got married and you should have I mean that was a lot of work and then there was another time we'll get to that in a second but I don't want to give away what happened post-race just yet but you've had to take some times to to settle down Naturally when people take a break their fitness is gonna go down a little bit as it should I mean that's just natural it's physics or human anatomy, whatever you want to call it but it's fun because I see what you're doing now And because you've been consistent and you're like hey Ryan, I want back in I want to just be all out ⁓ it's fun see you like your fitness levels and it's crazy because when I see what you're doing and How you're yourself again the Difference the difference is because you've done it before you know what to expect You know how to tackle it and so the more that you do this It's almost like that foundation that we had established years ago really never disappeared It may have got a couple of cracks in it you went along you put some you know new mortar whatever in it's it you've re-solidified it and now you're stacking on top of it and You're just mentally, you're there. You're all there. You're good. It's just getting back to that physical aspect. And you're so strong. Again, you're like dialed in right now. I'm just like, she's humming. She's just back to just being in a good place. and it's fun to see your fitness levels. Your fitness levels are skyrocketing because you know what it takes to accomplish these big goals and they're not easy. We know they're not easy. especially what you plan to do in 2026, but But this is how it's done. really sees the that someone will put in. They see the glory and they'll be like, wow, that's so cool that ⁓ this did this race, 100 mile or 50 mile or whatever. But ⁓ if went back and they really saw all the work you put into it, I think their eyes would be opened. I think they'd be like, whoa, that person was committed to that. And there is, how many? ⁓ early mornings, how many snowy runs, how many rainy runs, how many times you're up on, I mean we're gonna tell funny story here, but how many times you're up and someone's out there shooting shotgun shells and know, clay pigeons, and you're like, what the freak? Like, this is the type of stuff that you, me, everybody ⁓ experiences so that can accomplish these goals, later down the road. And that's what it's all about. And that's how you're able to finish the 50-Miler. Jenny: Thank Coach Ryan Head: ⁓ You put the work in, you deserve to finish. yeah, how did that last 20 miles go of the race? mean, you looked strong every time I saw you in the first 30. but what happened? What happened that 20? Jenny: Yeah, let's break down even like the first half. I remember the first 20, you and I had a really good conversation and you're right. Like I love a plan and I love following it. So I was like, right, and said this, we're gonna try this. Remember you telling me like, go at it a good comfortable pace those first miles. Like this is gonna be a good long stretch, keep it comfortable. And I kept, especially cause I learned from my last big race, I was like, don't go hot. Just like ease into it. I felt really good. the first, I think it's 10 to the ranch, and it's 10, or yeah. And it was when I passed you going to the ranch, and I remember giving you a hard time, you know, when I saw you, because I was like, Ryan, how fast are you going out there? But we like, both had our phones pulled up, recording each other as we're crossing paths, which was helpful for later tidbits in the story. Pass each other, turn around, I was making good time, it was probably like mile 12, Coach Ryan Head: 11 to the ranch. Yep. 11. 11 to the ranch. Jenny: little bit later like mile 15, I started to adjust my shoe. I kept like retying it because I was feeling this like pain around my Achilles like my heel and my Achilles and I was like okay and we had determined it was like a little bit of bursitis but I just kept adjusting my shoe. I keep going and that's when I hit like mile 20. So the second half of it and it's right around this time. I'm starting to run. ⁓ I'm like, okay, you know what? I now I'm in a little bit more of a flat section. I'm gonna start jogging and I feel this like pain above my ankle. So like it's not my ankle. It's not the bursitis. It's not that, but it's like right above and like what is going on? Like my muscle must be so tight. My calves, my sole is weird. So I just keep walking. I'm like, let me try running again. Hurts again. Let me just try walking. So I do this like back and forth running, walking thing all the way to the next station, which is at this point, I don't know this part of the island as well as I knew the first half. I'm like coming around. It's gotta be like mile 23, 24, where it's a little bit more remote. I hit that aid station and I'm thinking like it kind of dips down like, okay, well I could get a little bit of wind in my sails by doing a little downhill. Couldn't do that. was like, okay, this is weird. Like I'm just gonna keep going. Must be tied to the birth site. Like it's gotta be somehow related. So I'm trying to keep going. I have service throughout. I am such an overly planner. Like I want everyone to be communicated to. I want them to know what's going on. I have one pacer the whole, I mean it's 50 miles, this amazing pacer I'm trying to communicate. Like I had projected a time, I'm slowing significantly down. I'm ⁓ my goodness, how long are they gonna be waiting for me? Which is not helpful in the middle of a race, but I'm like stressing and worried about that. I feel so bad, I hate people waiting on me. And I'm taking longer to like make my way around this point of the island that's like trail accessible only. And I'm like, I don't know. It's getting a little hot. I'm like, okay. I'm not like... Stressed or worried. I'm not gonna finish the race. I'm like this is taking me longer than I want it to I'm like come on I want to be faster like keep trying and I'm trying to like keep myself cool It's not really hot in the day, but the sun's out and like gotta make sure I get my sunscreen on and It's white What is it? ⁓ White rock that's right around where I'm meeting my Pacer Clark, Coach Ryan Head: White Rock. Jenny: meet up with her. ⁓ so sweet. She goes, okay, I brought you a cheeseburger and fries. Did you want the kids meal toy too? And I was like, yeah, I do. She had brought me this cute little snack and she she knows all the she's done races before so she knows all these like eight station people. She's just chatting, which is perfect. I need someone to socialize even if I'm not the one interacting like I just need to be around that. So we are just chatting up. She picks me up. I'm telling her about my foot. telling her what I'm thinking of and she's just on it. She's like, okay, we're gonna do this, this, and this. She offers me like an Excedrin and I remember thinking like, no, like I don't wanna take any medication on this. Like, I don't know if I've had enough water. I'm like overly worried about it. She goes, just try it, just take some. So I remember taking like, I think it was an Excedrin over an ibuprofen. I'm like, okay, we're gonna try this. She kept pace, she didn't ever make me feel bad. Cause I'm like, I think I have to walk this. I was like, Whitney, I don't know. and she's chatting with me the whole time. She always offered like, hey, you want to try jogging? And I jogged for a little bit. I'm like, I don't, I don't think this is a good idea. And at this point, I'm still thinking it's just a really tight muscle. I've never experienced anything like this. I'm like, it's gotta be this. So we do most of the race. We're chatting. We get stuck in the Buffalo herd. We see it from like elephant head. We looked down elephant head and we're like, okay. We're about to. We're gonna have to go through that. Like what's gonna happen? We're taking pictures. She was the best. She was like, okay, let's let's take a picture real quick. Let's do this. And I'm like, yeah, I'm walking it. So we, there's like a dead buffalo on the trail that we did not realize at first. And we're like, okay, we just gotta make our way. We just like slowly make our way. And then the whole race, like the whole second half, I would say like I was in really good spirits because once I'm around someone, oh, we can just bounce off. It doesn't matter who it is. Like, okay, we're good. When I'm by myself, I know I can get in my head and I'm like dealing with this injury, this issue where I have no idea what's going on, but I'm feeling pain. But no matter what race it is, and I know people do this, I know like as soon as I see the finish line, I'm gonna jump, I'm gonna run, I'm gonna sprint out, I'm gonna do it. So I remember like the last mile and I can start to see it and I'm like, okay. I'm like, I can't do it yet, like I still don't feel good. And I didn't know what to expect for that finish line. But there really is no finish line there. Like you've done it. People over there. There's no there's no arch. There's no banner. There's not like there's a timer running. There's no mat. That's like just the timer is what it feels like. So I'm running in and have a really awesome like family that supports me in terms of encouragement. But I don't have a ton of people showing up. Jonah's there. I was like you have to be here. My dad showed up, Jonah showed up, and then my two closest friends from college were there. And my friend who's done all my hikes with me. So in this little group, and Wendy throughout the whole race has been talking to me about, she goes, yeah, when her husband, they've run the Wasatch 100, she's like, someone brought in balloons and that was such a dumb idea. He didn't want to carry around these balloons. Get him flowers, get him something. She was like, I told your mom, if they get anything, Jonah, she gets you flowers. And I remember pulling out my phone on this race and I was like, mom, if you give me flowers, I'll be so annoyed. I want balloons. Like I don't want plants. I want to, was like, no need of that, I'm about to cross the finish line and there's Jonah holding balloons. He knows me, he knows me. But I remember seeing that finish line. I'm like, okay, I'm going to run this. if you Coach Ryan Head: Yeah. Jenny: can't remember who recorded it for me, but if you watch that video, there is like no run. It is all a mental run, but it's like step, step, step, step, it's barely happening because I didn't realize what was going on, but my foot is like hurting so bad. I remember I finished and I was like, bring the car to me. Like where's the car? Like I don't want to walk. I don't know where I parked it, so I wouldn't find it, but I was like, I'm not walking to that car. I'm done. But I remember. not even, i think it was a little anticlimactic because there's no finish line. it was probably the mile or two before that i was like okay i did this, like this happened. and it was was amazing to see that and be like okay we got this, i did it. Coach Ryan Head: That's awesome. I agree. When I finished my 100 miler, I felt like, is there any fanfare? Like there's nothing. Whereas like I've done Wasatch 100, I've done Bear 100, and the race director comes out, shakes your hand, gives you like a big, hug, congratulations, shakes your hand, And I'm like, man, you just feel special. that's awesome. And I agree with you. Like for me, it's been, it's whenever across the finish line of a hundred, all of my have been spent miles ago, right? Jenny: Yeah. Coach Ryan Head: ⁓ And so when you're like, yeah, you know two miles ago, that's when the emotions hit, you know, you're feeling whatever whether it's anger or happiness crying whatever all the emotions I'm the same way. Usually it's about eight miles left in the race. I'll break down You saw me do this at Los Etch this past year I always cry. I don't know why it's just what I do. It's ⁓ I can't believe I did this again type of deal but I ⁓ know how you're feeling know what it's like to come across that finish line So you come across the finish line, you're hurting pretty bad. happens couple days after that? Jenny: ⁓ my goodness. The next couple days I had been warned great friends, great support. They're like, you're not going to sleep well the next day. All that cortisol, the adrenaline. So I knew when we laid down that night, I was like, I like, I'm going to be exhausted. even though it's gross, like I don't care to shower after the race because I'm so tired of standing. I was like, we need a hose because I don't want to take shower because I'm dying. And then I lay in bed like, I'm not leaving this bed. Like I can't. And I'm just thinking it's sore muscles. I'm like trying to stretch. I put a massage gun in my car. over there like just trying to massage anything with this massage gun. The first morning I wake up and I'm like, this hurts. Like I am the most pain I've ever been. I'm trying to stretch as much because I usually, if I stretch well after a race, I usually don't have too much soreness, like just a little bit, but I could go out and do something. So after this race, I was like, ⁓ I ⁓ I'm in a lot of pain for walking. For not running a lot of it. And I can't figure it out. like, something hurts so bad. I remember trying to just like walk to the bathroom and I'm like, I am dying. I'm like breaking into tears. I lay in bed for a while. I can't figure out what it is. For one whole day I was like, I'm just probably really sore. The next day I can tell when I like try to roll over or move my foot. Something is hurting. I'm like, okay. ⁓ Like, did I break my leg? Is it a ligament? I'm like, chat GPT. My mom's a retired nurse. So she can kind of know, but it's been a while. I'm like, mom, what is it? I'm sending her a picture where I'm circling this spot on my foot, trying to describe it. I'm like, what is going on? Well, ⁓ I've got a sports recovery clinic I go to pretty frequently, and they've got some great people there. And one of them, she was checking out my foot, and she was like, I can't tell if it's a ligament or the bone. Like I think we should do an MRI to see what's going on. And it took, I remember the evolution of me getting out of the bed was like, we grabbed my office wheel chair that I'm in now, and I would like lower myself to the wheel chair and then it's a hardwood floor. And I did not make it down to the kitchen for a couple of days. I would wheel myself to the bathroom and like try to get myself, it was so bad. And I was like, I can't tell if I'm being a baby or what is happening. Like am I just, we get the MRI, we're trying to figure out what it is. comes back it's a stress fracture. And I'm thinking what? Like I've never, obviously it's not a break. I had never really experienced a stress fracture before. I know you just had Nate on. But like for me I had no idea. I had no idea how that could have happened. I'm trying to figure it out. Like what? How did this? it also felt very validating to feel like I wasn't a baby. I mean Nate's over here like you can hike on a stress fracture. I'm listening to the podcast like no. Really? You can't, because I'm over here dying in bed. But learning it was a stress fracture was like, okay, I'm not just like making this up. This was pretty tough. I think for a couple weeks, it was the idea of the friends who ⁓ would supportive of the distance, but always be like, you're gonna injure yourself, even like here with the hundred. That's not good for your body. And I remember coming out of the 50 miler with the stress fracture and thinking, oh my gosh, all these people are gonna be like, see, I was right. And I just remember feeling like so defeated for a while, like, no, I'm not that statistic. Like, I'm not gonna be that. And here I am, like, I'm everything. I got over it. I was like, dude, I still did a 50. I placed for my age range, first place. Coach Ryan Head: that's awesome. Well, you know, I think it, you know, again, like I've said before, and I'll say it again, I don't encourage people to run injured, and you know, obviously the goal is to try to avoid that, but accidents happen, injuries happen, and you know, to me, it just. just so much about who you are, what your grit is. Again, I'm not sitting here saying, hey, you should run on a broken leg, right? And I'm not gonna tell anyone to do that, but it just tells so much about you that you're like, I wanna finish this, I'm gonna get across the finish line, and then we're gonna deal with it. And I think a lot of times that is such a good mindset for life. Like, we're gonna go through hard times, we're gonna have things that just are ⁓ You can either lay down and let it run over you or you can get up and fight and be like I'm gonna push through I'm gonna get to a point where I feel better about stuff and try to get get to a good spot So it's just awesome to hear that story again because I remember living it with you I remember you being like Ryan. I have a stress fracture. and they're recommending whatever it was, four weeks off, six weeks off, I can't remember. But it was really cool because you beat this race, you take the time off, and then you're like, okay, I want more, I want more. And I remember just being like, let's go, let's go. Like I love that you're doing this. But then, know, life's crazy, right? 2025, your second half of your 2025 was busy. I don't fault you and the Citus for making your family a priority. I think you should have. Now you still did races, but you know, there really wasn't anything crazy that you'd done. mean, the craziest thing, I can kinda, guess it's, I guess it's where we flip the microphone over to Ryan and get interviewed by Jenny, but I was just so grateful to have you as my crew chief for Bear. You helped pace me at Wasatch. You had been there. Jenny: Thanks. Coach Ryan Head: ⁓ You know at Wasatch you came to the halfway point at Lambs Canyon. It was so awesome to have you there. You're just like, do do? What do I do? And I was like, Zach, Zach's gonna help. And you're like, okay. And like you were kind of like jumping in. I was like, man, like that's how it's done. Look at that. Like she just jumps in. Like what can I, and I've got a video of it. It's actually on the start of the podcast. It's where you jump in and it's, if you watch it on YouTube, you can see the clip of you jumping in and just being like, I got this, like whatnot. But then, know, having you help pace me that last eight miles to the finish line was amazing. It was so cool to have you and Joe and Nate there, just the four of us, like the four of us power through to that finish line was just amazing and just so fun. And then, you know, just to have you as my crew chief ⁓ Bear, you know, I don't want to say this because I don't want anyone stealing you away from me because I'm like, she's my hidden secret, but. Jenny is probably without a doubt, maybe the one of the best crew chiefs you could ever hire or have or whatever, because she's so organized. ⁓ as everybody has said, that's been that helped at that race. And also at Wasatch is they're like, Jenny is organized and she's very much like, this is what needs to happen. This is how it needs to go. like very like on point, this is what we're doing. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And I know I kind of coached you to that and so did Nate, but it was really cool because every person was like, Jenny not mean about it. She's kind, but she's very firm so that we know what our marching orders were. And I think that's why Bear went really well at the aid stations. And I think that's why I was able to get out quickly. I think that's why everybody knew what their role was. of you. I really believe that because everybody told me this ⁓ I hear it just from one pacer. I didn't hear from two I heard it from every single one of them just how you were like ⁓ on spot and I ⁓ I it because you know as you know, like you kind of said this you alluded to it with your race It's hard you to get into an age station and you've got to start thinking for for yourself Your goal is simple. You are to get from point A to point B. Whatever that is and I'll 0 to 26, miles 0 to 50, miles 0 to 62 or miles 0 to 100. That's your goal as a runner. You got to run. Your goal is to get there and that's it. So it's nice when you have a crew chief that's just like, no, this is what's happening. This is how we're going to go about it. And it just was amazing. It was so cool to have you there. And I just appreciate you. There was multiple events, whether it was at Tony Grove when you knew I was frustrated about some stuff and you took over, you got people away from me and you took over the situation. Whether it was you making sure that I was taken care of when you weren't my crew chief, they're from mile 75 to 85. ⁓ made sure everyone knew what to do. Ryan Bruce and Cody Babel knew what to do and then they could come back and get me. It was really cool to have you at Letham Hollow, the very first aid station that your crew could be at, if you will, at mile 19 where you just jumped in. You're like, hey, what do you need? You got me on my stuff. You got me over to the aid station tent. And you're like, get this, get this, get this. Okay, you're good. Okay, time to go. Time to go. There's no need to dilly dally. You were just Johnny on the spot. And like, I loved it. ⁓ appreciated you beyond belief. And again, everybody has just spoke glowingly about you. So again, I know I've told you with 10,000 times, I'll say it one more time and I appreciate you and your willingness to help me out those races. Jenny: And it's been honestly so cool because something you and I have talked about in the millions of Marco poll as I send you is I want to get more into the running community. And part of that is like my own personal schedule and the communities around here and their availability. But you've been so willing to like, hey, drive all the way up to where you live, which is a further distance and join your community or run with you. And then getting to participate in these. I'm very much a planner. I love a plan. I'm gonna execute. I'm gonna follow and when you provide just like even the tiniest bit of instruction like cool We're gonna run with it spreadsheet live off of that. So when you're like, hey you want to be crew chief? It's like just just show me the key. Give me that spreadsheet. I will review every little detail I will read every little thing I can I will figure it out I will ask me every question I can and then I'm like, okay, we're gonna roll we're gonna figure this out so I I enjoyed it as much like I love running. I didn't realize how much I would love being crew chief, but just a little bit of telling people what to do and a lot of support and being like, I I sent you the, the GIF or the meme from Cars when like, Lightning McQueen pulls in and it's like, ⁓ and he's like, pitch stop. I like that feeling. That is exactly how I felt. Like to me, it's satisfying. I'm like, ooh, my runner's taken care of. He's got X, Y, Z. and he's out and he's good and just being able to support you in that way. I remember there was an aid station. You're like, you don't have to be here. And I was like, no, no. I remember like sitting around the campfire like, yeah, I was like. Coach Ryan Head: Franklin Basin, Basin in middle of the night. What was it like? 12, 1, something like that. It's so cold. And you're there. You're like, they're like, what are you doing? And you're like, I told you I'd be here. And I'm like, go sleep. I'm like, meet me at Beaver Mountain at Mile 75. And you're like, no, I'm here. And I'm like, okay. Like, that's who you are. That's who you are. Like, it's so cool. Like, it's so nice of you. Jenny: Yep. Yes. I remember. Thanks Coach Ryan Head: How many people in life are willing to be like you? Like there's not that many. That's what's so cool about you. You're like, I wanna take care of you. So we're gonna get you taken care of. Jenny: I love it. It's been so cool. It made me...it like opens me up into the running community in a way where I get to see it from another side. You get to chat with all the other Pacers. When everyone's sitting in that parking lot with the like satellite wifi and we're all just chatting like, oh okay cool nice to meet you. Great to talk to you. Chat with Jacob for a little bit. See you with other people. It's been great. So I appreciate the opportunity and will welcome it any other time you need it. a crude gene. Coach Ryan Head: Well, I appreciate that and anybody that listens to this, you do have to get in line behind me for her services as a crew chief. So please know that. Anyways, if you wanna support other people, that's great, but I sure have enjoyed having you as my crew chief and it was just so fun to have you do that and then you had your wedding, I was able to come to that, participate, come you do that, I was so proud of you. You looked so beautiful at that. was just so cool to see you go through just so much stuff. had your big race, you went through your injury, planning, you know, your wedding, getting married, all the fun you've had with work stuff. You know, then you're just like, I'll help at Wasatch and then I'll be your crew chief at Bear. I mean, just most impressive, most impressive. I mean, it's just super grateful for you as a friend. And just super grateful to you honestly have you a part of my life like I always say like I have I am very Careful about who I have in my kind of my inner circle and you're definitely one of those people and I just appreciate you a lot So they do truly do so Jenny: I don't think I could beat out your Ogden running people, but I'll be right back. Coach Ryan Head: ⁓ you do pretty good. You do pretty good. Well, awesome. Well, I know we're gonna wrap up a little early, but it's by intention because, well, you'll know in a second. So ⁓ I'd love to do is I want to do ⁓ I've been doing with everybody. It's called the lightning round of just certain questions I wanna throw at you and see how these go. So, okay, first one. Favorite race distance? Jenny: only done the 50 mile distance once. So I would say the 18 miler only because right now I've done that a couple times. It's just this sweet spot. I know it's lightning round, but a long run is always a great way to clear your thoughts. Like in the chamber I'll always have like these are the topics I'm gonna think through. So ⁓ miles is so far the sweet spot till I do other races. Coach Ryan Head: Love it, love it, okay. Rotor Trails. Jenny: Obviously trails. Coach Ryan Head: I know I everybody have had on so far is his trails besides besides Tim. Tim Cotterill is the only one that's like ⁓ roads he does like trails again it's a common misbelief that he everyone thinks he hates trails he actually loves them but morning or evening runs Jenny: That's it. Morning. never gonna happen in the evening and I always feel better if I run in the morning. Coach Ryan Head: Nice, nice. post-run meal. Jenny: Okay I was thinking about this because a lot of your people have done like post race. Are we talking post run or post race? Coach Ryan Head: I'd say, let's just go with run. Let's go with run. Doesn't have to be a race. Jenny: Post run, it's like a simple protein shake, but it has to be chocolatey. It's gotta make me feel like I'm eating a dessert when I'm not eating a dessert. But a post race, a pizza, I'm a pizza person. Like a burger's good, but eat almost an entire pizza or half a pizza after post race. just hits spot. Coach Ryan Head: I love it. I love it. It's funny. that's, that's really cool. Yeah. I feel like everybody so far has said ham like a big hamburger, No, that's ⁓ I, ⁓ I will agree. pizza for me. So after I finished race, I don't want to eat anything that next that, that day, ⁓ I'm like, I just want like, like you said, a protein shake. usually all I can do. Usually I want just lots of ice. I want it to be cooled down. my temperature is just Jenny: Yeah. Coach Ryan Head: Flying through the roof, but the second day I'm like ⁓ just like right and ⁓ man like pizza I always say Jess am I just give me my own pizza like I'll do it myself like I can eat this whole thing So ⁓ anyway, so with you. I like pizza pizza is not a bad option as well Okay music podcasts silence on your runs Jenny: Yes. It's probably never silenced. I can't do that. I need something. I tune it out. If it's a podcast, it's running and honestly, there's like two. Yours has picked up on my list and then I love a good Trail to 100. It has to be running related. And ⁓ most of the time it's music just on shuffle. Coach Ryan Head: Hahaha Okay, now to double down on this question, because I told you we'd come back to it. What's either on your playlist right now on the, as you put it, what was it, the bad, what was it, yeah, big mad, what's on the big mad? I wanna hear, this gets me excited. What's on playlist? Jenny: The big, big. Okay, so I'm pulling up my phone. I made a playlist for my first 5k when I got back into running. So my playlist to this day is still called 5k-er. I've got my 5k-er playlist that's just like over a thousand songs. I'll just keep adding to it instead of like bouncing around. But then my more recent one, honestly, it probably developed after work, got so stressful I'd get like angry and I used to do afternoon runs. So right now... No, no judgment. My big mad is a bunch of like female artists. I've got Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B. I do have Saw and Pepper, which is not female. Who else do I have? Those are like some of the regular names and then I've got some Rihanna. But a of it is just either like not cheesy women empowerment, but ⁓ like this angsty vibe, which ⁓ is how I survive if I'm in a mood but I still need to run. I turn on this playlist and I'm like, yeah, that's right! And I just pound it out. Coach Ryan Head: That's awesome. I love it. I love it. I love a good, I definitely have multiple playlists depending on what I'm going for. I won't lie, I've been stuck in like the early 2000s punk, pop punk for a minute now. I've been all over the place. I always post on my Strava, as you know, like my song lyrics, which I love that you do it now too. There's a few of us. I'm like, guys, jump on the trend. I don't care if anyone else do it. ⁓ we could all be doing anything, that'd be sweet. Just put a lyric that's stuck in your head the whole time while you're running. That's why I do it. There's really no other meaning behind it. I think some people are like, what's the hidden message today? like, the hidden message is I just wanted to put something that's stuck in my head. Anyway, so I love it. That's super cool. I ⁓ love just, I'm about new I love playlists like you. I'm the same way. I to be more music than podcasts. I do try to listen to podcasts, but. It can be difficult for me because I tend to like my mind tends to wander when I'm out there and then I'm like ⁓ what was said for the past like 10 minutes and then I'm lost so Anyways, cool. Cool. Cool. Okay last couple of questions. I'll throw at you Thank you for the lightning round. You did awesome with the lightning round loved it. What you say to someone who may have lost their why with running? Jenny: For me, think, I you and I talked about this, it comes down to consistency. And maybe it's because they're tying their why to motivation. Like, I don't really want to do this anymore. But to me, I'm like, just keep showing up. You don't know. And even if it's, if you walk a mile ⁓ instead run whatever was planned on the schedule, but if you just keep showing up, like, there's stuff you're going to find out about yourself. For me, I think, mean, you and I talked about this, it comes down to consistency. And maybe it's because they're tying their why to motivation. Like, I don't really want to do this anymore. But to me, I'm like, just keep showing up. You don't know. And even if it's, if you walk a mile ⁓ of run whatever was planned on the schedule, but if you just keep showing up, like, there's stuff you're going to find out about yourself. you're going to discover yourself in some way. And so like if you feel like you've lost your why, keep going, even if it's something small. you're going to discover yourself in some way. And so like if you feel like you've lost your why, keep going, even if it's something small. Coach Ryan Head: Yeah, I love that. me and Jenny, I would say Jenny may be the closest person I've ever met to myself with their love for running. And think I can speak for both of us when I say this. We both do not love running every day of the year. There are times we hate getting out of our bed. We are tired, we are sore, we do not want to do this. Yeah, I love that. Again, me and Jenny, I would say Jenny may be the closest person I've ever met to myself with their love for running. And I think I can speak for both of us when I say this. We both do not love running every day of the year. are many times we hate getting out of our bed. We are tired, we are sore, we do not want to do this. But the key to this is like she said, motivation is fleeting. It will leave you. won't be if you're like well, I listen the same tune That's what gets me going you're gonna it's gonna crash if you watch the same YouTube video, you're gonna crash It's about being disciplined. It's about being consistent if you can do that. That's how the races are won You'll do it every time so I love that you brought that up again. I think that's key If you've lost your why I agree just get back at it like ⁓ even if you're like this gonna suck Just go for a mile about being It's about being consistent if you can do that. That's how the races are won It's better than nothing. Just be 1 % better today. If that's all you got, just go be 1%. That's all you gotta do. I mean, it's gonna come back around eventually, so I love that. Cool, cool, cool. Now thanks for sharing that. My second to last question I'll ask you, and I'll have one more after this. What is the one last piece of your why that maybe you didn't share or maybe you feel like you shared every bit of it? What is the last bit piece of your why that you'd want to share on here? What's something maybe, again, maybe you didn't say it or maybe there's just one more thing. What would you share about your why? Jenny: Yeah, I feel like a lot of my why has been self-improvement or mental health and kind of tied to that. But the thing that probably is like the last drop in the bucket, the final thing is anytime Jonah's like, you're going to be happier. Remember how you feel after it. That's the kind of if everything else fails, I do always feel better after my run. I do always have a better mood. Even if I slipped halfway down the run or whatever. I do feel better by the end of it. I'm like, yep, I'm glad I did that. And that's kind of if everything else fails, I know I'm happier. Coach Ryan Head: I agree with you every time. don't know if there's ever been a run where I was ⁓ that I did it. I every time I'm grateful that I went, even if maybe I sustained an injury ⁓ or had a really bad bonking session, I'm always grateful that I still got out there. So I love that. Yeah, thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Okay, last question. So what's next? gonna tell ⁓ all of our listeners? What's next you? Jenny: after much approval from my husband. I will ⁓ running the in October as as they release it. 100-Miler back on analog. Got a redemption ⁓ arc this, you Coach Ryan Head: Let's go, it's awesome. I'm so excited for you. You're gonna do amazing because you've done a 50, you know what it takes, you know there's gonna be hard times You're gonna crush it. I know you will. I'm not even worried in the slightest. You're gonna go out and you're gonna do this because you've shown it over and over and over that you're consistent. You're dedicated, you'll make it happen. And yes, there's gonna be awful runs this summer. Lots of them that you're not gonna wanna do it. I already can tell you right now, you're not gonna want to. But I always say to myself, every time I get up and I run in July, and it's like, I look at my watch and it says it's 78 degrees already, and I'm like, it's freaking four in the morning, are you kidding? And it's 78 already? Like, come on, give me a break. Can't we be in the 60s still? And I always tell myself, this is where it's won. do you wanna race this year? I it's one. So, I am so excited for you. I really am. You're gonna do great. What's something you're planning to do in training? And you're probably like, well, whatever you tell me, coach. ⁓ what's something you're planning to do that maybe would help someone that's wanting to do their first 100? What's something you're planning to do for the 100 in this training block? Jenny: you I really love the idea of using other races as a way to like test where you're at or as like your long run. we talked about skyline this time. Doing that again is going to be a good test and like I just love a good redemption. Going back to analog, coming back to skyline, see how I do. So I say that's a big thing in this training block and then focusing on... I'm not going get another stress fracture, but focusing on, what could have been improved easily immediately like, okay, how do we fix this? What do we change? So strength training different areas that could help. Coach Ryan Head: That's awesome, cool. Well, I'm excited to come out and be your crew chief for this. I know I've already told you, but formally I'm announcing that. I'm excited, I know that I will have possibly other friends out there and I'm willing to help them, but Jenny is my top priority that day. I will be recovering from my races for the fall, so I'm just excited to come out and support you. It's gonna be a party and you're gonna do it. You're gonna do amazing with it. I'll be there every step of the way. to make sure you get across that finish line. Well, cool. If people wanna follow you ⁓ social media, Strava, any of that fun stuff, where can they follow you at? ⁓ Jenny: I am on Strava and just like Ryan said, I mostly post song lyrics because that's all I learned from the coach. I think it's just Jenny Westwood. I don't think there's anything fancy there. And Instagram, same thing. It's like jenny underscore underscore Westwood. And of the time I'm probably going to post running as an Instagram story, but those are the two that I'm mostly on. Coach Ryan Head: Cool, yeah. Well, truth be told, if people are listening to this, they're only looking for more running stuff, so that's awesome. So I'll put her contact information from Instagram and Strava in the show notes. Give her follow, guys. She's gonna be doing some pretty special stuff. She already has, and she's gonna continue to do it. ⁓ an inspiration to many, Jenny: Yeah. Coach Ryan Head: I think you're an inspiration, you're definitely someone that many people can look up to and say, hey, you know what, she's shown us that there is a way to go through tough times, go through hard things, injuries, personal setbacks, divorce, whatever it is, and I can accomplish great things as well. So thank you for being an example, thank you for being a great friend, and I'm excited to see what you do this year. So last question, promise is the last question, then we'll wrap up. If you finish at 100 miler, you'd be willing to come back on and tell us all about it. Jenny: ⁓ yeah, ⁓ yeah. Coach Ryan Head: I'd love have you come back on and tell us all about your adventures on Antelope. I think that'd be really cool to hear your story. ⁓ And ⁓ as I always say, if you me your crew chief or as one of your pacers or whatnot, I'm not letting you out of the race. So it's all but guaranteed you're gonna finish it. So let's go have some fun. So awesome, Jenny. Well, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy life and schedule to be on this podcast. I'm excited to release this so that people get to know you a little bit better and thank you for your story. Jenny: Love it. Coach Ryan Head: Okay, thanks Jenny.