Did you know not all Vikings are triathletes? Case in point, our very own Jennie Elliott. This lady is a life-long runner, super smart, adventurous, and holds down our Guyana branch for us!
WHEN DID YOU JOIN VALHALLA + VALKYRIE RACE TEAM?
2020. Lars and Emily became family friends when two of our kids were in school together. When Lars noted I was really running a lot more (pandemic stress reliever) he convinced me to join the team. I said my competitive athletic days were over and I wasn’t interested in really competing again, but he convinced me to give it a whirl and said I’d be a great fit and the team was made up of all sorts of athletes.
WHEN DID YOU START TRIATHLON?
Never! I’m a runner. I’ve been running since I was 13, doing mid distance for conditioning since I was a varsity field hockey player. Since then, running is something I’ve always just done and I spent a good amount of time in college doing local races in Boston and being a member of local teams.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR TRIATHLON JOURNEY:
I really started to get back into running around 2008 after I had my first child. It became my stress reliever to get away from the pressures at the office and at home being a first time mom. I took a year off after the birth of our second, but have been running pretty consistently the last 16 years with various peaks of intensity.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RACE?
I love the Houston Half Marathon. The energy along the whole course, the number of athletes, it has a vibe to it that I love. And it screams Houston, and I really do love Houston (just not the heat or summer).
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IN THIS SPORT?
I ran a 12 hour ultramarathon! I did 40.25 miles and came in 3rd. Before then my longest race distance was a half marathon. I focused a lot on nutrition and pacing and really really enjoyed myself. I can attest that chick-fil-a fries delivered at the 8 hour mark was clutch. And to this day I hate the Spindletree loop.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
Being patient with myself and treating myself with grace (which my husband reminds me I need to do). As I am getting older, I have to be better at managing my aches and pains and burnout. I’m kinda recovering from burnout now from overtraining last year. And I hurt my knee doing Pilates (NOT RUNNING) so I am all sorts of angsty.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE POST RACE FOOD?
Either fried chicken or flautas and wine.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY.
They are amazing. I have my partner, Peter, who I’ve been married to for 21 years (together 26 years in total). Peter is a high school literature teacher and AP department head and also a viking having joined the team last year. We have our wonderful daughter Aine, who is 16 and a junior in high school. Aine is joined at the hip by Liam, who is 13 and entering 8th grade. Finally, we have Bolt, our bearded dragon (aka Lizard). We think she is 4 years old (we adopted her from her first family) and I fully suspect we will take care of her forever even though she’s Liam’s pet.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROFESSIONAL/PERSONAL LIFE.
In the real world I am the Geoscience Manager in Guyana for ExxonMobil. I’ve lived in Guyana for almost two years now (the kids/Peter stayed in the Woodlands for school). I’ve worked for ExxonMobil my entire career (22 years) as both a geologist and geophysicist and had the chance to work both conventional and unconventional assets all stages of the Upstream (Exploration, Development, Production). I’m also a trained commercial negotiator! I’ve held various management positions the last 6 years which means I’m really good at paperwork, meetings, email, and One Note. The fun part of my job is since 2016 I’ve been traveling the world for work- which is one of the things that keeps me showing up everyday- the adventures and the challenges keep me going. Plus while I am here, I am accompanied by a fellow Viking, as Arran Kieth is on our Wells team that my team works closely with.
WHAT IS SOMETHING NO ONE WOULD EVER GUESS/KNOW ABOUT YOU?
In a prior life I played roller derby (my track name is Hells Kitty). I think it was from 2012- 2015. As the kids got bigger and started their own activities I “retired” so I could focus on them and their activities. I walked away with no broken bones but there were some pretty bad sprains and lots of splints. And a cracked tooth.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS TEAM?
The friendships. I’ve gotten close to folks like Diego, Dulce, Annette, Jeff, Val, Dave, Ashley and Arran. Following you all while I’m out of country helps keep me sane (and I miss everyone!)
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR?
Don’t have a favorite, but I like books by Lisa Jewel, Ruth Ware, Mary Cubic
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT?
Ohhhhh. Right now anyplace that has steak (don’t get that here in Guyana). The Kitchen is a family fav. Also, I got to hit up the Mexican when in town, El Chapparo has killer flautas.
WHO IS YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION?
My son, Liam. Li-li had a few really rough years when he was little as he developed Dyspraxia (a brain disorder that results in weakness of fine motor, gross motor and speech skills) and it took a while to figure out what was going on and get all the therapies needed to help him move forward. He demonstrates what resilience looks like and he is amazingly smart, charming, and funny. And he did it all with grace even when we lost track of the number of doctor/therapy appointments after 200. I still don’t understand how his brain exactly works, but it is amazing to see him thrive now. And you’d never know he was so off track except for his horrific handwriting (and refusal to write which is understandable) and the tremor he has.
WHAT EXCITING PLANS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE NEXT YEAR?
So, I’ve mixed up my training! I’m currently training for a 34 mile hike that I am taking in mid September in rural Guyana to see the Sakaika Waterfall. We hike 17 miles in, camp for 2 nights, and then hike 17 miles out on day three. So I’m doing strength training and rucking (its a 20 pound pack I have to carry) and doing 3 hour run/walks. So kinda like my ultra training, but the goal is not to run on this hike.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?
Not a lot. I miss everyone back in the states and enjoy following everyone from afar. Life gets lonely here sometimes, so seeing all your posts helps to make things go by faster.
