Jeff Benjamin and Jared Ward, photo by Jeff Benjamin
Jared Ward is one of America’s finest marathoners. The BYU grad has run some fine tactical and fast marathons, with a modus operandi of going out conservatively, and finishing fast, taking many fine positions in events like Boston, NYC, and in the 2016 Olympic Trials. In Rio 2016, Jared finished sixth, in a fine PB of 2:11.30. Jared Ward’s PB is 2:09.25, which was run at Boston Marathon in 2019.
Jared had a tough day in Atlanta, at the 2020 Olympic Trials, in 2:15.55 for 27th.
Awaiting The Baton In The Relay Exchange Zone – Profiles Of Athletes, Coaches & Legends During The War Against Corona
Profile # 30
Olympian & Top SAUCONY American Marathoner Jared Ward
By Jeff Benjamin
Jared Ward, photo by FamousMormons.com
How is your daily training/coaching regimen going and how challenging has it been for you in this environment?
“In my experience, controlling the things we can control is all we can really do, but focusing that mentality puts us in a position to thrive. I’m trying to do the best I can with the resources I have, to put myself in a competitive position for a fall racing season. Some athletes are going to come out of covid-19 on a tear, and I’d like to be one of those.”
“I’ve been focusing on strength exercises that I can do at home that are going to help my body, with resilience for when I can hop back into training full force. I’ve been rehabbing my foot, so I’m spending a lot of time on the exercise bike trying to not lose too much fitness.”
What advice can you give to runners, -especially youth, high school, collegiate- who are challenged during this time as well?
” I think it’s much less about how much we’re doing and much more about our mentality and if we’re doing everything that we can that’s going to affect how we perform in the future. We’re not just training ourselves physically right now, we’re also training our mental resilience.”
