Jenny Crain

Last updated

Jenny Crain (born February 12, 1968, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin [1] ) is an American retired runner. She competed in the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in distances from 3000 meters to the marathon and in the U.S. Olympic Trials at 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon distances.

Contents

On August 21, 2007, while on a training run for her fourth Olympic Marathon Trials, an automobile driver hit Crain. She suffered a myriad of injuries including extensive brain damage, ending her competitive running career and starting a lifetime of rehabilitation. [2]

Running career

Jenny Crain followed her brother, Peter, into competitive running in at Franklin High School in Franklin, Wisconsin. [3] She continued her running at Ohio University where she earned All-MAC honors. [4]

After college, Crain put running on hold while pursuing a different professional career until deciding to train for and compete in the 1996 Olympic Trials.

Traffic collision and rehab

On August 21, 2007, while on a training run for her fourth Olympic Marathon trials, a driver hit Crain while she was crossing the intersection at Brady and Farwell streets in her hometown of Milwaukee. [5]

The collision fractured Crain's vertebrae, shattered her jaw, bruised her aorta, and caused massive brain damage. The traumatic brain injury resulted in a loss of spatial awareness, reading ability limitations, short-term memory impairment, difficulty walking, and balance problems. Crain's treatment included acute hospital care at Froedert Hospital, specialized critical care for brain injury at Milwaukee's Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Institute, and continual therapy for over 1.5 years at Mt. Carmel. As of 2009, Crain required assisted living in her condo, and was involved in daily therapy sessions. [5]

A number of initiatives were launched in response to Crain's accident:

Results

[10]

YearEventPlaceTime
2005Mt. Sac Relays 100003rd33:05
2005USA 10000 Championships7th33:07.43
2005USA 15 km Championships6th51:21 (PR)
2005USA 8 km Championships5th26:24
2004USA Olympic Trials - 1000010th33:19
2004USA 20 km Championships3rd1:10:58 (PR)
2004USA 10 km Championships5th33:28
2004USA Olympic Trials - Marathon11th2:37:36 (PR)
2004ING NYC Marathon 15th2:41:06
2003USA Championships 10000m5th32:49
2003 Pan American Games 100006th 34:40.19
2003USA 10 km Championships3rd33:16
2003ING NYC Marathon16th2:38:49
2001Eugene Twilight Meet 5000m3rd15:36
2000USA Olympic Trials - 5000m14th15:49
2000USA Olympic Trials - 10000m10th32:42
2000USA Olympic Trials - Marathon14th2:42:12
1999Pan-Am Games Marathon7th2:54:19 [11]
1999USA Outdoors 1000019th34:13:43
1998 Columbus Marathon 2nd2:40:31 (PR)
1998USA Outdoors 100005th34:33.59
1998Stanford Invitational 50001st16:01.45 (PR)
1998Mt SAC 100001st32:30.01 (PR)
1998 Charlotte Observer Marathon 1st2:45:26
1997 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships 53rd1:15.05 (PR) [12]
1997 California International Marathon 9th2:46:57
1997USA 10 Mile Champs8th56:52
1997USA 5K Road Champs12th
1997USA Outdoor 100009th33:59.03
1997USA Indoor 30007th9:25:08 (PR)
1996 Chicago Marathon 11th2:44:21
1996 Drake Relays 2nd34:11.26
1996Sea-Ray Relays2nd34:35.97
1996USA Olympic Marathon Trials84th2:52:47
1995Tucson Marathon1st2:50:01

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Benoit</span> American distance runner

Joan Benoit Samuelson is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon for 32 years after winning the race in 1985. Her time at the Boston Marathon was the fastest time by an American woman at that race for 28 years. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberto Salazar</span> Cuban-born American long-distance runner, and later, track coach

Alberto Salazar is an American former track coach and long-distance runner. Born in Cuba, Salazar immigrated to the United States as a child with his family, living in Connecticut and then in Wayland, Massachusetts, where Salazar competed in track and field in high school. Salazar won the New York City Marathon three times in the early 1980s, and won the 1982 Boston Marathon in a race known as the "Duel in the Sun". He set American track records for 5,000 m and 10,000 m in 1982. Salazar was later the head coach of the Nike Oregon Project. He won the IAAF Coaching Achievement Award in 2013.

Marla Lee Runyan is an American track and field athlete, road runner and marathon runner who is legally blind. She is a three-time national champion in the women's 5000 metres. She is also an athlete that competed in both the Paralympics and the Olympics, both reaching the finals.

Katie McGregor is an American runner who participates in track, cross country and the marathon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deena Kastor</span> American long-distance runner

Deena Michelle Kastor is an American long-distance runner. She was a holder of American records in the marathon (2006-2022) and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. She is also an eight-time national champion in cross country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Hasay</span> American long-distance runner

Jordan Melissa Hogan is an American distance runner. She grew up in Arroyo Grande, California, and attended Mission College Preparatory High School in San Luis Obispo. She was unanimously selected 2008 Girls High School Athlete of the Year by the voting panel at Track and Field News. In March 2009, she became the ninth high school athlete and third woman on the cover of Track and Field News magazine. She attended the University of Oregon, where she studied business administration and competed on the cross country and track and field teams earning 18 All-American honors, 2011 Mile and 3,000 meters NCAA titles. Her father was a high school basketball star in Pennsylvania, and her mother was a national level swimmer in her native England. Jordan Hasay is no longer coached by Alberto Salazar due to his suspension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kara Goucher</span> American long-distance runner

Kara Goucher is an American long-distance runner. She was the 10,000 meters silver medalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and represented the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. She made her marathon debut in 2008 and finished third the following year at the Boston Marathon.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is home to a variety of sports teams and events.

Erica Larson Baron is a chemist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and a champion mountain runner. She has won the Pikes Peak marathon on five occasions, more than any other woman since the event's inception in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Rhines</span> American long-distance runner

Jennifer Rhines is an American long-distance runner who competes in track, cross country and road running events. She has competed in three different Summer Olympics and made 15 US Teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Tenforde</span> American long-distance runner

Kate Tenforde is an American long-distance runner from Milton, Massachusetts. She represented the United States in the 2004 Summer Olympics, competing in the 10,000 metres.

Sylvia Mosqueda is an American long distance runner notable for hard front running over an extended career at an elite level.

Lauren Fleshman is an American runner, coach, author, and retired professional track and field athlete. She was the U.S. 5000 meters champion in 2006 and 2010, and competed at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 2003, 2005, and 2011. In the 5000 meter final of the 2011 IAAF World Championships she finished in 7th place, equalling what was at the time the highest ever finish by an American woman in that event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desiree Linden</span> American long-distance runner

Desiree "Des" Nicole Linden is an American long-distance runner. She represented the United States in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics women's marathon. In 2018, she won the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American in 33 years to win the woman's category in the event. She holds the women's 50K world record of 2:59:54.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Hall</span> American runner

Sara Hall is a professional American distance runner for ASICS. Hall's personal best time for the marathon is 2:20:32 set at the Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona on December 22, 2020, making her the third-fastest American woman in history. She is the second-fastest American woman ever to run the half marathon, running 1:07:15 on January 16, 2022–an American record at the time.

Kathy Butler is a long-distance runner who competes in the 10,000 metres and marathon, as well as cross country running and road running. Born in Scotland, she has competed internationally for both Great Britain and Canada.

Dorothy McMahan is an American long-distance runner. She competed in the marathon event at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Sisson</span> American long-distance runner (born 1991)

Emily Sisson is an American long-distance runner. She set the North American record in the marathon on October 9, 2022, when she ran 2:18:29 to finish second at the Chicago Marathon. Sisson also held the American record in the half marathon from May 2022 until July 2023. She represented the United States in the 10000 metres at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships, finishing 9th and 10th. In June 2021, she won the 10000m at the 2020 US Olympic Trials and placed 10th in the 10000m final at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2024, she placed second in the marathon at the US Olympic Trials, qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics. She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics Women's marathon on 11 August 2024, where she finished 23rd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Seidel</span> American long-distance runner

Molly Seidel is an American long distance runner. Seidel represented the United States at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country in 2012, 2013, and 2018. In her first-ever marathon, Seidel placed second at the 2020 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials. Later, she went on to win the bronze medal in her third career marathon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. At the University of Notre Dame, Seidel was a 4-time NCAA champion, 6-time NCAA All-American, 6-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion and 2016 female ACC Athlete of the Year.

Kim Pawelek Brantly is a Vietnamese-American middle- and long-distance runner. She is the woman's 1999 US Marathon Champion.

References

  1. "Jenny Crain".
  2. Brant, John (November 2009). "Close To Home". Runner's World: 82–91, 109, 113–115.
  3. Clemmons, Anna Katherine. "Jenny Crain". Runner's World.
  4. "USATF Athlete Biography Jenny Crain".
  5. 1 2 Brant, John (November 2009). "Close To Home". Runner's World: 82–91, 109, 113–115.
  6. "Jenny Crain Make It Happen Benefit".
  7. "It's Official. Team Running for Jenny Crain secures Guinness Record in Lakefront Marathon". Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.
  8. "The Runner's Cookbook".
  9. "USATF announces The Jenny Crain Mentoring Program".
  10. "Results".
  11. "PanAm Full Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-28.
  12. "IAAF World Half Marathon Championships 1997: Women Athletes Biographies" . Retrieved June 1, 2012.