A friend directed me to Jenni, another fellow Missourian! COVID-19 affected her in more ways than the Boston cancellation; her husband is currently deployed and was unable to return home in April as scheduled. She got her start in running in high school, when a friend's recommendation resulted in her signing up for cross-country thinking that she was going to literally cross into Mexico from Texas (this is the best misinterpretation of cross-country I have ever heard!). She ran her first marathon to BQ at the encouragement of friends and achieved that goal! You'll find her running Boston virtually in September to celebrate running.
Introduce yourself (who you are, where you're from, what you do, etc.)
I am Jenni Sherman, 31 years old, and currently live in St. Robert, Missouri. I am a expanded functions dental assistant and I love my job. I have an 11-year-old boy named Brandon, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4, and he and my husband Justin are my life. I have a 14-year-old dog named Godzilla.We are a military family, as my husband serves in the Army. I was raised and born in El Paso, Texas, and I've been in Missouri since 2012.
What are you thoughts on Boston 2020 being cancelled? How did you handle the initial postponement and eventual cancellation, mentally and physically?
My husband is currently deployed in Saudi Arabia. He left last September, and April was the month that he would of been able to come home for R&R; however, when COVID-19 happened we first found out that he was not allowed to travel. Then the announcement of the postponement happened, so that was a big bummer because we were supposed to go together, and since it was my first time qualifying I was very excited to get to share that with him. I can’t lie, it is scary times and I am very understanding, safety first. I felt discouraged for a few weeks because of all the training I put in during the months before April, but luckily I have a very supportive group of people in my life that just don’t let me quit and kept me motivated to run.
Do you plan to run Boston 2020 virtually? Why or why not?
I do! It's my first BQ, and I planned to go run it and celebrate that I was able to accomplish a BQ on my first attempt. I know it won’t be the same as actually running Boston but I still love running very much so I am very happy to be able to do it virtually.
Do you plan to run Boston 2021? Why or why not?
I would love to.
How did you get started in running? Tell us a little about your early running career through present.
I started running in high school. A friend told me about cross country and I had no idea what that was. It was in El Paso, Texas, which is a border town and I was so clueless that I thought we were actually going to cross the bridge and go to Mexico, but it turned out to be long distance running. I remembered the first time I went to practice we did a 2 mile run and I was dying but kept showing up because I wanted to do something amazing, We went to State and came in 2nd place my sophomore year and kept going to state my junior and senior year. Senior year I was offer scholarship to continue running but I decided to stop. I took a long break and in 2013 I started running again.
Why did you decide to run your first marathon?
To qualify for Boston, A good friend who ran with me in El Paso Texas invited me to go to Washington state to qualify. I honestly didn’t believe I would ever be able to BQ, but when he showed me a video of the race I said yes right away. It is a beautiful and super fast marathon course in Snoqualmie Pass, WA.
When did you set the goal of qualifying for Boston and what inspired you to try?
I set the goal last year, there is this running quote that I just love which is “ the real purpose of running isn’t to win a race, it's to test the limits of the human heart”. My inspiration is my dad, son and husband. I just want my son to know that he can do anything he sets his mind into
What was your journey to BQ like?
A little overwhelming because I am very competitive so that what kept me going, but also it was bittersweet because I hate taking time away from my family to train. I am very blessed to have my husband who would follow me in bike or car and just support me in any way he could for me to be able to train.
Why did you decide to run Boston 2020?
I honestly never thought I would be even close to qualifying, and if it wasn’t for my friend encouraging me to do it I would of never gone to a qualifying race. I don’t race very often because I work weekends, but I took a chance and I am very blessed that I was able to do it.
How did it feel to be accepted into Boston 2020?
It was a beautiful feeling, I felt like all that hard work and time I took away from my family paid off. I felt very proud.
What did you learn from this journey - from BQ to postponement to cancellation?
Running isn’t canceled. We will get through this and there will be light at the end of the tunnel. We have to stay positive and keep running.
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