Fast Women: Jenny Grimshaw finds balance with running after surgery and kids
Jane Hedengren breaks the U.S. high school two-mile record.
Issue 345, sponsored by PUMA
After surgery and two kids, Jenny Grimshaw is running better than ever
This feature is sponsored by PUMA.
When Jenny Grimshaw was 29 years old, she learned that she was at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. She knew there was a 50–50 chance she would have a harmful variant in her BRCA1 gene, because her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 38, did as well. Following a geneticist’s advice, Grimshaw waited to test until she was ready to take action based on the results.
Grimshaw, now 33, who lives in San Francisco, had been married less than two months when she got the news. She and her husband, Miles Grimshaw, wanted kids, and having the variant meant accelerating their timeline. In the four years that followed, she had two children and a prophylactic double mastectomy. And somehow, she managed to run two personal bests in the marathon.
On April 27, Grimshaw will line up for the London Marathon, hoping to improve on her PR of 2:39:13. Her buildup has gone well so far, thanks in part to a year without major medical interruptions. “This is the first time since 2020 that I’ve had a full year of my body being mine,” she told Fast Women.
A medical rollercoaster
Grimshaw found out she had the BRCA1 variant in November 2020 and began in vitro fertilization soon after. The process allowed doctors to screen embryos for the variant—an emotionally complicated decision, but one that ensured she wouldn’t pass it on to her children. She also knew she wanted to freeze her eggs, in case she got cancer and needed chemotherapy.
She had her first child, Tate, on October 30, 2021. Grimshaw was able to run throughout her pregnancy, and incredibly, less than eight months later, she took nearly five minutes off of her marathon PR, running 2:39:55 in 2022 at Grandma’s Marathon. Grimshaw acknowledges that luck played a significant role in her quick and healthy return to running. In addition, she focused on fueling well, sleeping as much as possible, and doing a lot of pelvic floor work.
Her biggest challenges would come later. In January 2023, when Tate was 15 months, Grimshaw underwent a prophylactic double mastectomy to reduce her cancer risk. Doing so was a difficult decision. “I always tell people there is no right choice,” she said.
She didn’t want to wait too long because both her mother and great grandmother were under 40 when they were diagnosed with cancer. She wanted to have the experience of breastfeeding before having the surgery, and she also knew the recovery would be easier with just one child to take care of. While Grimshaw was pregnant, she couldn’t do cancer screenings, which heightened her anxiety. “Once Tate was born, the anxiety of waiting became more overwhelming than the anxiety of getting the surgery,” she said.
After breastfeeding for 11 months, Grimshaw was told that she only had two weeks to wean in preparation for her surgery. The hormonal crash hit hard. Long prone to anxiety, she experienced a resurgence of panic attacks. “I had a really lucky postpartum and pregnancy experience, but weaning was what made me understand what postpartum hormones can do. I was not in a good place,” she said.
Recovering from the surgery was also difficult. She couldn’t lift anything for six weeks, which meant she couldn’t be left alone with Tate. Her parents temporarily moved in, and her father helped take care of her son, while her mother took care of her.
“I remember one night, she was changing my drains, because you have drains after your mastectomy,” she said. “I was like, ‘I feel so bad that you need to do this.’ And my mom said, ‘My mom did this for me.’ It was so sad, but also so special.”
Grimshaw’s surgeon cleared her to run after four weeks. She was glad to be active again, but she found that her body was not recovering from the training. “This is a time in my life where I wish I had taken a little more rest,” she said.
In April 2024, Grimshaw had her second child, Hallie. Like her first pregnancy, things went about as smoothly as she could have hoped. And six months after giving birth, she ran a 42-second personal best of 2:39:13 at the Chicago Marathon.
Soon after this month’s London Marathon, she’ll undergo another round of egg freezing to keep her options open. And because of her family history, Grimshaw plans to have her ovaries removed and begin hormone replacement therapy by age 35. In the meantime, she goes for ovarian cancer screenings every six months.
Putting running in perspective
In addition to parenting and running, Grimshaw works full-time leading the marketing team at Equip, a company that provides virtual eating disorder treatment. She and her husband rely on a full-time nanny during the week, which makes it possible for her to do what she does. Most nights, Grimshaw is in bed by 8:00 or 8:30.
“I won’t sugarcoat it,” she said. “It’s hard. But I am also so fulfilled by it. Running has been a savior to me in terms of maintaining a sense of my own identity and strength.”
During this training cycle, on certain weekends, Grimshaw tried something new. She’d spend time with the whole family on Sunday mornings, and then, while her children napped from 12–3, she would run 20+ miles. If she was lucky, she could squeeze in a quick shower and be done by the time they woke up, ready to spend the afternoon together. “This sounds more miserable than it is,” she said. “It’s actually really nice.”
For much of Grimshaw’s running career, anxiety held her back. She loved the sport and the community it gave her, but she didn’t love racing. In 2022, while struggling with hormonal shifts and preparing for her double mastectomy, she dropped out of the California International Marathon. She was disappointed, but Tate was waiting for her at the halfway mark. “I just picked him up, went back to the hotel, we drove home, and life went on,” she said. “[Parenthood] and the medical stuff force a level of perspective.”
Last June, Grimshaw joined the Peninsula Distance Club. After years of coaching herself, she began working with Dena Evans. “She’s phenomenal,” Grimshaw said. “The team is incredible. I cannot say enough good things about them. And Dena is a mom herself, so she just gets it.”
Evans tells Grimshaw to rearrange her training schedule as needed to fit her family life, and to think of parenting as 5–10 miles of cross training. Evans has also encouraged Grimshaw to take scheduled down time, which she hasn’t always done, especially with so many interruptions in recent years. And training with PDC has helped Grimshaw push herself in shorter, faster workouts, which are a bit outside of her comfort zone.
Running London as part of Project3
Grimshaw will run the London Marathon as part of Puma’s Project3, which will give 100 Boston Marathon and 100 London runners a taste of the elite experience. They have access to the latest shoe technology, Puma apparel, regular webinars, an online community, and the opportunity to earn cash bonuses based on their marathon performance.
Grimshaw says she is picky about footwear, and she had never tried Puma shoes. So as the deadline to opt in to Project3 was approaching, she bought a pair of Deviate Nitro Elite 3s and proceeded to run the fastest workout of her life in them. “Some of that was fitness,” she said. “But I was also just like, ‘I love these shoes.’”
Grimshaw then raced a half marathon in them, and she set a two-minute personal best of 1:15:16. In Boston and London, the Project3 and Puma pro athletes will be racing in a shoe that will launch later this week.
Two of Grimshaw’s close friends—Carolyn Buchanan, also part of Project3, and Sophie Payne—are also running London. And the larger Project3 group will offer another layer of community while she’s far from home.
Grimshaw hasn’t set a firm time goal; she’ll talk it through with Evans closer to race day. But she’s in a good place, physically and mentally. “I’m busier than ever,” she said. “But I’ve found the balance with running that I always knew I could get to but didn’t quite know how to find.”
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Other News and Links
Rachel Smith’s baby, Harper, arrived a few days early.
Sinclaire Johnson, Shelby Houlihan, and Karissa Schweizer headline the field for the USATF 1 Mile Championships, set for Tuesday, April 22, in Des Moines, Iowa. The top two finishers will earn the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the World Road Running Championships. (Date and location still TBA.) Nikki Hiltz had originally planned to race in Des Moines, but they said on Instagram that their plans have changed, due to the rescheduling of the World Championships.
Hiltz’s vlogs continue to be my favorite content on YouTube. I enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes look at Grand Slam Track in the latest one. And I appreciated their reminder: “Don’t get too caught up in chasing your dreams that you forget you’re already living them.”
Lindsay Flanagan, Kellyn Taylor, Lauren Hagans, and Romania’s Joan Chelimo Melly are among those who have withdrawn from the Boston Marathon. Flanagan has a partial tear in her high hamstring. Taylor’s withdrawal sounds like it was due to a combination of illness and injury. And Hagans strained her calf in her last big workout.
After tearing her hamstring, Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson is back to working out on the track.
This is a nice article about Patty Hung, who will serve as the official starter for the professional women’s division at next week’s Boston Marathon. Hung, 79, will be running her 39th consecutive Boston and holds the longest streak by a woman.
Natosha Rogers talked to Emilia Benton (Runner’s World) about her regrets over making her marathon debut at the Olympic Trials, her decision to leave Puma Elite, and why she chose to stay quiet about running the Nagoya Women’s Marathon.
This is a good story about Allie Wilson’s path to the Olympics, with a focus on her years at Monmouth University.
Furman runner Camryn Wennersten is recovering after being hit head on by a car while biking on March 18. This post from her father has some of the details.
I’m always amused by which running stories get attention and which ones don’t. Great Britain’s Emily Marchant is a 2:36 marathoner, but it was running a 2:58 while hungover, on four hours of sleep, that caused her to go viral. Marchant was celebrating her hen (aka bachelorette) weekend, and naturally, she dressed as a hen. According to the BBC, she ran the last 100 meters of the race carrying an inflatable doll with a picture of her partner, Charlotte, attached to it. (Update: Marchant later pointed out that though her gun time was 2:58:17, and that was the time that made the news, her chip time was 2:55:41.)
For All Mothers+ (formerly &Mother) and Carleton University’s Health & Wellness Equity Research Group are studying the financial impact of motherhood on athletes’ careers. They are looking for female professional athletes who are pregnant or postpartum to take their 20–40 minute survey. If you know anyone who’s a fit, please spread the word.
After being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, Grayson Murphy is aiming to raise $30,000 for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation over the course of her season. “This year, my races will be less about performance and more about presence and letting go of expectations,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
Journalist Ashley Mateo launched a Kickstarter campaign last week to fund Runher, a quarterly print magazine that will focus on women’s running. She has already reached her minimum goal, but you can still support the project—a $60 pledge gets you a one-year subscription. The magazine is scheduled to launch this fall.
I love that Grant Fisher held a community run in Park City, Utah, on Saturday.
At last week’s House vs. NCAA hearing, Judge Claudia Wilken raised some concerns about the proposed settlement and gave lawyers one week to make adjustments. The potential changes would transform the landscape of collegiate athletics.
Former Diamond League vice-chairman of the board Patrick Magyar wrote a scathing post about Grand Slam Track on LinkedIn, and really only made himself look bad. When I first saw headlines about this, I took it to mean that someone currently affiliated with the Diamond League was picking a fight with Grand Slam Track. But it appears Magyar hasn’t been involved with the Diamond League since 2017.
I appreciated John Oliver taking on the subject of trans girls in sports on Last Week Tonight. The video is 42 minutes and worth the time.
Results Highlights
Utah high school senior Jane Hedengren set a U.S. high school two-mile record of 9:34.12 at the Arcadia Invitational, taking 7.64 seconds off of Allie Zealand’s mark from last spring. Hedengren also ran faster than Mary Cain’s indoor record of 9:38.68. She ran solo throughout and said she hoped to hit halfway in 4:42 and pick up the pace from there, but she wasn’t feeling her best. She said she might need a little more rest. Hedengren will be back on the track soon, though—she’s scheduled to race college athletes in the 5,000m at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Thursday night. (Results | Race replay)
Alabama’s Doris Lemngole dominated the 1500m at the Crimson Tide Invitational, running 4:09.28 and taking two seconds off of her PR. (Results)
At the Duke Invitational, Asics pro Rachel McArthur won the 5,000m in a 22-second PR of 15:17.90. She was paced by Grace Boone and Lindsey Butler, but McArthur was on her own after 2600m. After hitting 3K in 9:22.40, she ran the last 2K in 5:55.5. Duke’s Lauren Tolbert won the 800m in 2:01.87. NC State’s Sam Bush won the 1500m in 4:14.09, and NCAA Indoor 800m champion Makayla Paige of UNC, who is experimenting with the 1500m more, ran a PR of 4:14.45 for second. (Results)
Botswana’s Oratile Nowe, 24, won the 800m at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix, running a national record of 1:58.96. She has already PRed in the 800m three times this year. Dalilah Muhammad dominated the 400 hurdles, winning in 53.81 seconds. (Results)
Ethiopia’s Bedatu Hirpa won the Paris Marathon in 2:20:45, and Dera Dida, also of Ethiopia, finished four seconds back. (Results)
Kenya’s Jackline Cherono won the Rotterdam Marathon in 2:21:14 and Maggie Montoya was the top American, finishing 11th in 2:27:50, a 17-second personal best. (Results)
Coming off of Grand Slam Track’s Kingston Slam, Jess Hull won the 1500m (4:11.36) and 5,000m (15:02.72) at the Australian Championships. Because the 1500m had prelims, that meant that she raced five times in 10 days, and traveled about 11,000 miles in between. Abbey Caldwell won the 800m (2:00.51) and Cara Feain-Ryan won the steeplechase (9:29.19). (Results)
Italy’s Nadia Battocletti won the 10K at the European Running Championships, running a national record of 31:10. (Results)
Shea Aquilano, Canada’s Jade Belzberg, and Klaire Rhodes took the top three spots at the Gorge Waterfalls 100K, with Aquilano and Rhodes earning the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in September. Anna Gibson won the 30K and finished second overall. (Results)
Courtney Olsen won the USATF 50K title, running 3:16:45, and Sophie Seward was a relatively close second, in 3:17:35. (Results)
Tara Dower won the Lake Sonoma 50 miler in 7:36:21. (Results)
Valarie Allman reclaimed the North American discus record, and improved her American record, with a 73.52m throw at the Oklahoma Throws Series on Saturday. That’s the farthest any woman has thrown since 1989, and it moves her to sixth on the world all-time list.
Podcast Highlights
On Unexpected Curves, English Gardner told the story of having to wear Allyson Felix’s spikes, which were too big, during the 2016 Olympic 4x100m relay final.
Jess McClain was good on both I’ll Have Another and the Lactic Acid Podcast last week. On the latter, I appreciated hearing more details about the work she does helping both rescue dogs and children in the foster care system.
I enjoyed getting a Gabi Rooker update on the Ali on the Run Show, as she prepares to run the Boston Marathon.
Nia Akins mainly discussed her faith on The Running Effect, but she also said that since making the move from the Brooks Beasts to being coached by Derek Thompson, she no longer does long runs. She does hard workouts at least three times a week, and she’s also doing more challenging workouts in the gym. “I’m not used to being pushed so hard in practices and training,” she said. “So I am really excited to see how that [translates] to the track.”
I enjoyed getting more of Molly Bookmyer’s story on the Lane 9 Podcast.
Annie Rodenfels and host Cherie Louise Turner recorded a live episode of Women’s Running Stories.
On Every Step of the Way, Lauren Gregory and Allie Ostrander discussed some of the mistakes they’ve made with underfueling and overtraining.
Des Linden talked a little about her Boston buildup on Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara, and the hosts announced that admission to Save the 10,000 will be free for all spectators.
It would have cleared some things up if I had known up front that the hosts of the Bro, Hear me Out! podcast were Val Constien and Elise Cranny’s boyfriends (Kyle Lewis and Charlie Sweeney). But I figured that part out eventually. Constien was this week’s guest. She didn’t do a ton of the talking, but she provides an update around the 55:50 mark. She’s planning to race a 1500m at Bryan Clay this week, and then return to the steeplechase at the Doha Diamond League meet on May 16. Constien seriously injured her ACL at that meet two years ago, and the meet director invited her back, hoping the second time around will be a much better experience. She talked very briefly about how her training has changed now that she’s being coached by Sean Carlson, the new CU coach.
Life has gotten busy for the Fast People podcast team in the past few weeks, but we hope to pick back up with new episodes soon. In the meantime, you can catch up on past episodes here.
Additional Episodes: Jane Hedengren and Makayla Paige on The Running Effect | Shalaya Kipp on Conversation Pace with FRE
Upcoming
The Bryan Clay Invitational is always one of the fastest college meets of the season and the distance events begin on Wednesday evening. (Sometimes I wonder how college athletes manage to spend any time in class.) You can get all the important meet information here and it looks like the results will eventually be here. FloTrack will livestream the meet.
We’re also only a week out from the Boston Marathon. I will put out a newsletter on race morning, but here’s where you can find information about how to watch the race from afar.
Thanks to all of you who help keep Fast Women going with your support via Patreon and Venmo. I appreciate you so much! I hope all of you have the best week possible.
Alison