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Jenny Crain

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Jenny Crain (born February 12, 1968, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin[1]) is an American retired runner. She competed in the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in distances from 3000 meters to the marathon and in the U.S. Olympic Trials at 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon distances.

On August 21, 2007, while on a training run for her fourth Olympic Marathon Trials, an automobile driver hit Crain. She suffered a myriad of injuries including extensive brain damage, ending her competitive running career and starting a lifetime of rehabilitation.[2]

Running career

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Jenny Crain followed her brother, Peter, into competitive running in at Franklin High School in Franklin, Wisconsin.[3] She continued her running at Ohio University where she earned All-MAC honors.[4]

After college, Crain put running on hold while pursuing a different professional career until deciding to train for and compete in the 1996 Olympic Trials.

Traffic collision and rehab

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On August 21, 2007, while on a training run for her fourth Olympic Marathon trials, a driver hit Crain while she was crossing the intersection at Brady and Farwell streets in her hometown of Milwaukee.[5]

The collision fractured Crain's vertebrae, shattered her jaw, bruised her aorta, and caused massive brain damage. The traumatic brain injury resulted in a loss of spatial awareness, reading ability limitations, short-term memory impairment, difficulty walking, and balance problems. Crain’s treatment included acute hospital care at Froedert Hospital, specialized critical care for brain injury at Milwaukee’s Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Institute, and continual therapy for over 1.5 years at Mt. Carmel. As of 2009, Crain required assisted living in her condo, and was involved in daily therapy sessions.[5]

A number of initiatives were launched in response to Crain's accident:

  • Jenny Crain Make It Happen Benefit fund to help pay for ongoing medical expenses.[6]
  • The Milwaukee community has hosted a variety of benefits including auctions, Make It Happen wrist bands, races, the Make it Happen Mile, and set the Guinness World Record for "most people linked together to complete a marathon" with 62 roped-together runners, competing as Team Jennipede at Milwaukee’s 2011 Lakefront Marathon.[7]
  • "The Runner’s Cookbook, Winning Recipes from Some of the World’s Best Athletes." Half of the proceeds from the sale of this cookbook went to the Jenny Crain Make It Happen Fund.[8]
  • USA Track & Field started a Jenny Crain Mentoring Program which helps maximize opportunities and resources for developing athletes.[9]

Results

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[10]

Year Event Place Time
2005 Mt. Sac Relays 10000 3rd 33:05
2005 USA 10000 Championships 7th 33:07.43
2005 USA 15 km Championships 6th 51:21 (PR)
2005 USA 8 km Championships 5th 26:24
2004 USA Olympic Trials - 10000 10th 33:19
2004 USA 20 km Championships 3rd 1:10:58 (PR)
2004 USA 10 km Championships 5th 33:28
2004 USA Olympic Trials - Marathon 11th 2:37:36 (PR)
2004 ING NYC Marathon 15th 2:41:06
2003 USA Championships 10000m 5th 32:49
2003 Pan American Games 10000 6th 34:40.19
2003 USA 10 km Championships 3rd 33:16
2003 ING NYC Marathon 16th 2:38:49
2001 Eugene Twilight Meet 5000m 3rd 15:36
2000 USA Olympic Trials - 5000m 14th 15:49
2000 USA Olympic Trials - 10000m 10th 32:42
2000 USA Olympic Trials - Marathon 14th 2:42:12
1999 Pan-Am Games Marathon 7th 2:54:19[11]
1999 USA Outdoors 10000 19th 34:13:43
1998 Columbus Marathon 2nd 2:40:31 (PR)
1998 USA Outdoors 10000 5th 34:33.59
1998 Stanford Invitational 5000 1st 16:01.45 (PR)
1998 Mt SAC 10000 1st 32:30.01 (PR)
1998 Charlotte Observer Marathon 1st 2:45:26
1997 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships 53rd 1:15.05 (PR)[12]
1997 California International Marathon 9th 2:46:57
1997 USA 10 Mile Champs 8th 56:52
1997 USA 5K Road Champs 12th
1997 USA Outdoor 10000 9th 33:59.03
1997 USA Indoor 3000 7th 9:25:08 (PR)
1996 Chicago Marathon 11th 2:44:21
1996 Drake Relays 2nd 34:11.26
1996 Sea-Ray Relays 2nd 34:35.97
1996 USA Olympic Marathon Trials 84th 2:52:47
1995 Tucson Marathon 1st 2:50:01

References

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  1. ^ "Jenny Crain".
  2. ^ Brant, John (November 2009). "Close To Home". Runner's World: 82–91, 109, 113–115.
  3. ^ Clemmons, Anna Katherine. "Jenny Crain". Runner's World.
  4. ^ "USATF Athlete Biography Jenny Crain".
  5. ^ a b Brant, John (November 2009). "Close To Home". Runner's World: 82–91, 109, 113–115.
  6. ^ "Jenny Crain Make It Happen Benefit".
  7. ^ "It's Official. Team Running for Jenny Crain secures Guinness Record in Lakefront Marathon". Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.
  8. ^ "The Runner's Cookbook".
  9. ^ "USATF announces The Jenny Crain Mentoring Program".
  10. ^ "Results".
  11. ^ "PanAm Full Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-28.
  12. ^ "IAAF World Half Marathon Championships 1997: Women Athletes Biographies". Retrieved June 1, 2012.
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