Our July Runner Spotlight is on Jen MacPherson. Jen started her running adventure in 7th grade when she joined the cross country team. After one practice, she quit and vowed to never run again. Fast forward to 2005, she learned about the run/walk method. She ran her first race, a half marathon in Maui, followed by two months later the Marine Corps Marathon. When asked how many events she does a year, Jen responded with “I’ve been aiming for 15-20 half marathons a year. 5Ks/10Ks aren’t really my thing, unless, of course, they’re part of a combo-challenge with a half marathon for a bonus medal/shirt, or in the case of Bishop’s Events, to get to the 100 event milestone faster!” Her biggest accomplishment is a tie between achieving the Rock ‘n’ Roll Series Hall of Fame in 2016 and completing a lifetime total of 100 half marathons back in 2019. Her goal race is to run the Antarctica Half Marathon. During some events, Jen will bring a small camera to take photos as she enjoys photography in mother nature.
Jen keeps coming back to our events for the great group of people, the goal of reaching 100 events for the Bishop award, and the Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips! Running has taught her to never say never and meeting some great friends along the way. As we venture out of a post-Covid world, looking back Jen’s favorite part of quarantine was having her husband working from home full-time… but it also happened to be the least favorite part! As we move forward, Jen is looking forward to return to traveling as she only has three more states to go – Alaska, North Dakota and Wisconsin – to finish round 1, and she already has plans for round 2.