854. Jenny Grimshaw, 2:32 Marathoner

"I had this sense of nostalgia, of we're going to look back on this as something special. We all felt a little bit of something magical going on."

She's come a long way, baby! Jenny Grimshaw returns to the Ali on the Run Show, this time as a 2:32 marathoner. Jenny just ran four-minute personal best at the California International Marathon, qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials with room to spare. This is the same Jenny who spent years trying to break three hours. The Jenny with a long history of race anxiety. The Jenny who dropped out of CIM in 2022. In this episode, Jenny, a mom to two young kids who lives in San Francisco and works full-time, talks about how she made that 2:32:50 happen, and how she has kept chipping away at her marathon time and enjoying herself along the way. Jenny also has the BRCA1 gene: She had a preventative prophylactic double mastectomy a few years ago, and will have her ovaries removed next year. 

FOLLOW JENNY @jenny_gshaw

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In this episode:

• Jenny's snapshot moment from CIM 2025 (2:50)
• All about Peninsula Distance Club, and the power of female friendships (5:20)
• How Jenny fits running and training into her days, and on learning to get over mom guilt (10:00)
• How being a mom has made Jenny a better runner (15:15)
• What it felt like to run a 2:32 marathon (17:40)
• How Jenny reacted when, at six weeks postpartum, she learned that the Trials standards had changed from 2:45 to 2:37 (21:10)
• On running 2:36 at the London Marathon this year — before the OTQ window opened for 2028 (25:50)
• How Jenny has navigated big running dreams and family planning (27:40)
• The decision not to run this year's Chicago Marathon, and why Jenny chose to do CIM instead (30:20)
• How Jenny knew it was going to be a special day at CIM (34:20)
• What it felt like standing on the CIM start line, and Jenny's goals for the day (38:30)
• What happens when the CIM finish line clock hits 2:37 (50:00)
• What's next for Jenny on the run (51:10)
• How Jenny is feeling about needing to have her ovaries removed as a result of having the BRCA1 gene (55:15)
• Jenny's advice for people who have big goals and dreams and are feeling stuck (58:20)
• All about Jenny's job at Equip, which provides virtual eating disorder treatment (1:00:15)

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