575. Jenny Simpson, Puma-Sponsored Professional Athlete

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Fitness, Sports, Running, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2022

⏱️ 74 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"I've never been someone that felt like I did my best work trying to prove somebody wrong. I do my best work trying to prove somebody right."

It hasn't been an easy year for three-time world championship medalist, three-time Olympian, and Olympic bronze medalist Jenny Simpson. In the 48 hours before the calendar turned from 2021 to 2022, Jenny watched as her world began to crumble. On December 30, wildfires engulfed her historic home — a former schoolhouse, beloved by Jenny and her husband, Jason, and by their community. They (with their dog, Truman) evacuated, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. On December 31, her 12-year contract with New Balance ended, and wasn't renewed — something Jenny calls "a great heartbreak." Plus, the 1500-meter legend was injured. In true Jenny form, though, she's seeing the bright side now. Jenny and Jason's home somehow survived the fire, and after being displaced for three months, they were able to move back in and rebuild their lives. She's no longer injured, and with all systems go, she's officially transitioning from the track to the roads, with longer distances in mind. ("I'm not training for a marathon," she swears.) Two weeks ago, she won the Army 10-Miler, and she has one more race on the calendar for 2022. And she is, once again, a fully sponsored professional athlete. Jenny signed with Puma earlier this year. Today, she's here to talk about all of it.

SPONSORS:

UCAN: Click here and use code ALI for 20% off your next UCAN order.
Napa Valley Marathon & Half Marathon: Click here to register for these races — taking place March 5, 2023 — today!

What you'll get on this episode:

How Jenny has brought her community together in the wake of last year's Colorado wildfires (3:30)
The lingering trauma from the wildfires (10:10)
What Jenny's running has been like over the past year (16:30)
On Jenny's recent Army 10-Miler win, and how she's feeling now (21:40)
Is Jenny Simpson ready to become a marathoner? (36:45)
How is Jenny measuring her success on the roads? (42:50)
On the end of Jenny's New Balances sponsorship, and the beginning of her partnership with Puma (49:00)
Jenny's shoes of choice right now (54:15)
Did Jenny watch the Fifth Avenue Mile this year? (57:55)
What Jenny sees in U.S. women's distance running right now (1:01:25)
What running feels like for Jenny right now (1:07:15)

For more, check out:

Jenny & Jason Simpson on Episode 329 of the Ali on the Run Show

Jenny Simpson on Episode 268 of the Ali on the Run Show

Jenny Simpson on Episode 96 of the Ali on the Run Show

"Is Top Miler Jenny Simpson About to Be a Marathoner?" by Sarah Lorge Butler for Runner's World

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Alley on the Run Show.
0:06.5	I'm your host Alley Feller, and every week I talk with people who are doing exciting
0:11.0	things on the run and beyond.
0:13.6	We all share that love for running, and that's what brings us all together.
0:17.2	But of course, there is more to life than what happens on the run itself, and this show
0:21.4	is all about those in-between.
0:24.4	My guest today is one of my very favorite people, Jenny Simpson.
0:29.3	She also happens to be one of the most accomplished people on the run.
0:33.7	Let's hear about it.
0:34.7	Jenny is a three-time world championship medalist.
0:37.9	She won gold in the 1500 meters in 2011, and silver in both 2013 and 2017.
0:44.1	She's a three-time Olympian who won bronze in Rio in 2016.
0:49.1	She has won the fifth avenue mile eight times.
0:52.4	To the point where I've wondered why the City of New York hasn't renamed that stretch of
0:56.1	road next to Central Park, Jenny Simpson Avenue.
0:59.3	I mean, I'll take it up with the mayor, I guess.
1:01.8	For more than a decade, Jenny has been the heart of the 1500 meters here in the US.
1:07.8	Always in contention, always at the front, both admired and respected, and probably a little
1:13.7	feared by her competitors, because if you were lining up next to Jenny on the track, you
1:18.8	knew you had your work cut out for you.
1:21.3	Plus, she's a class act.
1:23.6	But every competition, no matter how it has gone for her, Jenny is often the first to
	...

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