Jennifer Houck Hopes To Make Grandma’s History
- By Duncan Larkin
- Published Jun. 16, 2011
All her marathons have gotten progressively faster.
Jennifer Houck doesn’t consider herself to be a professional runner, but some would argue with her about that point. All eyes are on her she makes her final preparations to race this weekend’s Grandma’s Marathon. The reason: She may make Grandma’s history, becoming the first Minnesotan woman to win the race in 20 years.
Houck’s coach, Chad Salmela, thinks shes ready for a win. “This will be her first mental test and her first chance to win a marathon,” he said. “She’s fit, she feels better than when she ran the Boston Marathon in April. On a decent day she could be in the top five. On a great day she could challenge to win.”
Houck is 27 years old and lives in Bloomington, Minnesota. Her track record with the marathon has been impressive: each race gets faster: she took 38th in the 2009 Twin Cities Marathon in 2:47:42; 17th in the 2010 Boston Marathon in 2:39:02; 19th in the 2010 Chicago Marathon in 2:37:16; and 18th in the 2011 Boston Marathon in 2:34:28 on April 18.
For More: Duluth News Tribune
FILED UNDER: Boston Marathon / News TAGS: Chad Salmela / Duluth / Grandma's Marathon / Jennifer Houck / Minnesota / Twin Cities Marathon / women runners
Duncan Larkin
Duncan Larkin is the news editor at Competitor.com and a freelance journalist who’s been covering the sport of running for over five years. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007. His first running book, RUN SIMPLE, was released last July.