Princeton University Athletics
Running Down a Dream
March 31, 2000 | General
No one will ever confuse the running careers of Lynn Jennings '83 and Joe LeMay '89, as their paths have been somewhat diverse over the past decade.
Jennings was a star since high school and continues to find her way into the national limelight as a professional runner. LeMay has lurked in the background, carving out some impressive numbers by getting the most of his ability, but still finding other means of employment necessary.
There are some intertwining factors woven into the fabric of their lives, however, not the least of which is that both are Princeton graduates who had successful track careers at the University.
Another similarity arose on April 19, when LeMay became the first American male runner to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon, while Jennings was the first female finisher from the U.S. It was a banner day for Old Nassau that drew national attention.
The 32-year-old LeMay, who still holds the Princeton 10,000 meter record, finished 13th overall among men with a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 11 seconds while running his first Boston Marathon. Jennings, who was running her first "official" Boston Marathon at age 38 but second overall, finished 12th among women in a time of 2:38:37.
"We are always proud of something like that," says Princeton women's track and field coach Peter Farrell. "Many of our athletes do extremely well when they leave Princeton, and gifted athletes like Lynn and Joe, you want them to do well. You don't want to burn them out in college."
Jennings had what some people felt was a sub-par college career despite the fact she still owns four school records. The New Englander arrived at Princeton in 1978 amidst a sea of fanfare, as she was already a big name in the running world.
At age 17, Jennings ran her first Boston Marathon, but was not considered an official entry since the race only accepts runners older than 18. Jennings entered without a number and her final place did not count in the official standings. Even though her name was invisible in the next day's newspaper agate, she had impressed the running world by finishing third among women with a time of 2:46.
By then Jennings was established as one of the top young distance runners in the country. Ironically, she was born in Princeton but moved to Glasgow, Scotland, at age 4 before returning to America to settle in the town of Harvard, Mass. Jennings utilized the hilly terrain of Harvard to hone her running skills and became a New England running legend at the Broomfield School. After her impressive Boston Marathon run, Jennings was featured on the cover of the August 1978 Runner's World magazine complete with a five-page spread.
She burst onto the Princeton scene with a flurry, setting course records on the first five cross country courses she ran. But Jennings never quite fulfilled her potential in college, which indicates just how much talent she had considering she was a three-time All-America and set an Ivy League record of 9:01 in the 3,000 meters that still stands. There were also down times. Jennings took a year off from school, gained too much weight and lost too much desire.
"There was a checkered career in college, she was the first to admit that," says Farrell, who is credited by Jennings for not pressuring her while at Princeton. "There was definitely burnout, you could go into that long story that she burned out after high school."
Farrell was referring to Jennings' Boston Marathon run, which she did against the wishes of her coach at the time, John Babington. That created a rift between the two that was mended 10 years later. But Farrell felt that training for that race probably had some after-effects once Jennings got to college.
"She was up and down, out of here and back," the coach recalls. "There was one point where there was nothing I could do but back off. We had to let her go. I think she went through some changes in college and came out on the other side. We felt much better for it. She had personal changes, growth, broadening her life to be something beyond here. She saw it all in college and left here on solid footing. She was on track to being a world-class athlete."
Jennings did just that, going on to make a financially secure career in distance running. She won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1992 Olympics, won three World Cross Country titles and has been a U.S. champion a record 39 times. But through it all, she never returned to the Boston Marathon until this year.
Jennings was not available to be interviewed for Varsity Club News, but in a journal she provided Runner's World magazine for the Internet, she wrote, "Some would say I have waited too long to do this marathon thing. They may be right. It's hard to say. But I don't think so. Why didn't I run one of these mysterious marathons before 1999? I was preoccupied with winning World Cross Country Championships, an Olympic medal and nine national cross country titles. My versatility sent me in directions that never seemed to include the marathon. If I had done one earlier, perhaps I wouldn't have accomplished all that I have.
"I also feel strongly that human beings must continually reinvent themselves. Athletes need to define and redefine goals as they are reached. And the pull to the marathon has always lurked in my subconscious."
Jennings said at the post-race press conference, "It was definitely a learning experience, which is how I always thought it would be. And I knew it would be difficult. But I was not prepared to hurt so early, at 15 miles."
It was quite a contrast to the 17-year-old Jennings, who told Runner's World after her first Boston Marathon, "It wasn't that hard. Training in Harvard is much harder than running Heartbreak Hill. The last 4-6 miles didn't bother me that much-it wasn't a real challenging race for me. I want to be challenged by future marathons."
Whether it's arrogance, cockiness or just plain confidence, it's something all distance runners need to survive. LeMay showed his pride in the sport when filling out his application to Princeton while still attending Ridgewood High School. In it, LeMay wrote, "Distance running has become a very large part of my life ... I like it not only because I like winning races, but because it's a very honest sport-the individual who works the hardest will usually come out on top, not the athlete with a lot of natural ability. Running is something I really enjoy and will most likely do for the rest of my life."
LeMay has been true to his word. Although he has not made a career of it like Jennings, the 32-year-old has won some money over the years and just missed qualifying for the Olympics in 1996. He finished second in the U.S. trials and the top three usually go, provided they have a qualifying mark of 28:10. LeMay's time was 28:23, and the fourth-place qualifier went in his place because he reached that mark earlier in the year.
"The worst part about it is having to explain it again and again," says LeMay, who now lives in Danbury, Conn., and works as a software engineer. "People always say, `You were second, why didn't you go?' It'd be so much easier if I could just say I was in the Olympics."
LeMay enjoyed a solid career at Princeton. A 1988 cross country All-America, he took eighth in the 10,000 meters in the 1989 NCAA outdoor meet with a time of 30:05.19. He qualified for NCAAs in 28:59.9, a school record that still stands.
After graduating, LeMay earned his master's in mechanical engineering at Penn State. But he yearned to make a career of running.
"I took two years off from working and just tried to take a stab at running for a living," LeMay says. "I never did run well enough to get a contract from a shoe company. The first one I got was when I almost made the '96 Olympic team. Without an endorsement from a shoe company, who will pay you to run, you pretty much need a base salary to live on until your next race."
LeMay had some moderate success, setting a meet record in the Chemical Bank Corporate Challenge in 1995 amidst 85-degree temperatures and picking up some spending money here and there. All the while, there was an urge to conquer Heartbreak Hill.
"I've always wanted to run a Boston Marathon because I've always wanted to run a race people have heard of," LeMay says with a laugh. "The Boston and New York marathons and the Olympics are the only ones I could think of that people would be aware of, so they have always been the goal for me."
LeMay figured his biggest challenge among Americans was Rod DeHaven, noting that the two of them can defeat each other on any given day. DeHaven finished second among Americans in 2:19:29, but was considered the pre-race frontrunner among Yanks since he had the fastest time entering the race.
"I wasn't really surprised at being the number one American," says LeMay, who had to overcome a 1997 back injury in order to run. "The overall place did surprise me a little bit. I thought I'd finish between 15th and 20th, so 13th was a surprise. The top 15 get money and a trophy, so that sort of validates the fact you ran the marathon, because you feel like you count."
But LeMay quickly added that financial gain was the least of his worries at Boston.
"I ran it for the competition and for the glory, I guess," he says. "Boston is such a great race and so well known. So many people line the course. If I had wanted to run for money I would have run in Pittsburgh [two weeks later]. But this was actually the first marathon I had fun in. Every other marathon I've been in has been `Let's see how quickly I can get this over with.'"
But in this case LeMay went out conservatively, and said that from the 10th mile on no one passed him as he began to surge by others.
"I was just picking people off all through Newtown Hills [where Heartbreak Hill is situated], which is always a good feeling when you can do that in a marathon, just passing people the whole way," LeMay says. "The crowds were almost overwhelming, and I tend to like that. I tend to do well when there's a big spotlight on me."
LeMay says he hopes to run another marathon in the future, perhaps New York, Chicago or Berlin. Until then, he will continue to return to his alma mater each summer, serving as a counselor at Farrell's running camp.
"He's very good to have around the young kids, he's great with them," Farrell says. "He's like the top dog at camp, they always want to challenge him in cross country."
LeMay enjoys working the camp and is proud to see how it's grown. He also enjoys being around younger runners, especially since his thoughts on running have not changed from what he wrote on that college application 15 years ago.
"You're not going to be successful in this sport if you don't work hard," he says. "Working hard is no guarantee, sometimes you work as hard as you want and things don't go your way. But if you don't work hard, things might never go your way."
And if you do, well, just look at this year's Boston Marathon as proof.
by Rich Fisher