Running a marathon was the furthest thing from Jennifer Pope’s mind in early 2020, let alone qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
She was approaching her mid-30s at the time, 16 years removed from her senior year at Pinckney High School where she was a solid runner, but by no means a star.
Pope was still running, dabbling in some occasional races, but wasn’t seriously committed to the sport. Her favorite means of staying in shape was continuing to play soccer.
“I’ve always been a runner my whole life, but I actually played more soccer,” said Pope, 37, who now lives near Dallas.
But a lot of things changed in March 2020, including Pope’s trajectory as an athlete.
“I didn’t actually fall in love with running or running competitively until the pandemic,” said Pope, who graduated from Pinckney in 2004. “The only reason was, they shut down indoor soccer arenas, so I couldn’t play. I needed some exercise. I needed to get out and do something. I started running and started doing it more and more.”