Jenna Challenor – My Running Life

Ordinary runners doing extraordinary things

Jenna Challenor, 41, Comrades and Two Oceans Gold Medallist, Olympic Marathoner

Runner's World: What does your average training week look like?

Jenna Challenor: I run pretty much every day, but I do a lot of crosstraining, to supplement my running.

I'm not the type of runner who can run twice a day; and compared to a lot of top ultrarunners, my mileage is relatively low at around 100-120km at peak. But together with the crosstraining and activation and gym work, I probably train around 18 to 20 hours a week.

My long runs can range from 30 to 42km, and I throw in some 60km runs when I'm training specifically for an ultra.

When I've been injured, I've managed to maintain my fitness aqua jogging. I do exactly what I do on the road, but in the pool.... even when I have to do 21/2-hour runs! But it's really quite traumatic, so it's not something I ever like doing. I'd rather stick a pin in my eye.

RW: What's your 'go-to' running outfit?

JC: Black shorts and a crop top. I've got relatively big boobs for a runner, so I always choose crop tops with firm support, and I've never had a problem. I sometimes get a little tight in my upper back, so sometimes I need to loosen that up a bit.

To be honest, it's useful being able to put a couple of gels between the 'twins'!

RW: What shoes do you use?

JC: I'm lucky enough to have a variety to choose from, but I've struggled to find a long-run training pair. I love the new adidas carbon shoes, but I don't think you should be

wearing them all the time, because I think they stop parts of your feet from working. So I only run in them once or twice a week.