Faster As a Master: A Conversation with Jen St. Jean

Jen St. Jean has been running since she was 12 years old. She joined the middle school cross-country team with only three meets left in the season and came in third at that year’s league meet. Jen went on to achieve All-New England status by the end of high school. She subsequently ran track and cross-country at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she was Conference Champion in several events.  After college Jen ran for an Olympic Development team during which she ran her PRs of 2:08 in the 800m and 4:19 in the 1500m. Jen took a long break from running to pursue a career and to raise a family. In 2013 she decided it was time to return to racing and by 2016 she had decided on a new goal: to become faster as a master. Jen is currently an elite masters runner with a master’s mile PR of 4:54 and 4:37 for 1500m. Jen’s success is due no doubt to raw talent, but it is her wisdom, experience, determination and her mental toughness that allow her to get the most from her talent. In this conversation Jen offers a plethora of information about training and racing but what shines through the most is her unique outlook on running, success, pursuing goals and making tough decisions.