Olympian Visit

This morning 2.9 and 4.5 had a special visit from Jessica Stenson (Trengove), an Olympic Marathon runner. She spoke about her life and experiences that lead to her beginning her career as a successful marathon runner.

When Jess was in reception her dream job was to be a vet like her dad, a ballerina or an Olympic gymnast.

In 1996, at 8 years old, Jess was watching the Olympics and became fascinated by the swimmers. That year for Christmas she asked for an alarm clock so she could wake up early and go for morning swims. This lasted 2 days and Jess then realised that swimming wasn’t for her. She then started running and found her true passion.

At 21 years old, Jess committed to her goal as a marathon runner. It took a lot of hard work, dedication, good sleeping patterns and a balanced diet.

In 2012, Jess ran her first marathon in London and became an Olympian 24 years old!

In the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Jess got an injury but through hard work, dedication and thinking positively, she succeeded and won a bronze medal.

In the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Jess also won a bronze medal, however said this was her hardest run. She got to the 35km point and felt empty. Through visualisation she was able to again, succeed! Wow, what an inspiration – the mind is so powerful!

Every New Year’s Eve, Jess’ family do a goal setting activity. Jess transferred this into her running career, recently setting a goal of completing a marathon in less than 2 hours 25minutes and 59 seconds. As of 2 weeks ago in Perth, Jess achieved her goal completing a marathon in 2 hours 25minutes 13 seconds. Way to go Jess!!!

Jess’ current goal is to make the next Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 – We wish her the best of luck!

Jess shared some tips to unleash your potential:

Follow heart and passions
Keep aiming for progress
Focus on healthy lifestyle habits and be active
Spend time with people who bring out the best in you
Learn as much as you can
Be organised and adaptable
Know that it’s ok to make mistakes as you can reflect on them and build your resilience which helps you to be mentally stronger

What does Jess’ training schedule look like?

Tuesday and Friday = hard run

Sunday – 2.5 hour run

Other days – cross training, gym or swim

14 hours of training each week

Jess, thank you so much for coming to Brighton Primary School. We are inspired and in awe of you. Class 2.9 ran around the oval to see how fast they could run. It is safe to say there were a lot of red faces and all the students think you are a super woman.

All the best for your future runs, we are excited to continue to follow your marathon running career. Thank you for representing Australia!