Dunkirk native, PVCS teacher ready to compete in Berlin Marathon

Back in 2009, in Las Vegas, Dunkirk native Jennifer Giebner, a sixth grade math and science teacher in the Pine Valley Central School District, began what has become a life-altering obsession, when she took part in the Las Vegas Marathon.

“In the beginning I did it for exercise,” Giebner said of why she began running with intent at the age of 35. “And then it just became something I enjoyed. Then a friend of mine and I decided that we were going to run a marathon. I don’t know why, we just decided to give it a shot, so we did.”

Since that first race in 2009, a race she finished in 4:32:00, Giebner has run in the Presque Isle Marathon, the Boston Marathon three times (2012, ’15, ’16), the Chicago Marathon twice (’14, ’15) and the New York Marathon once (2013). She will run both the Chicago and New York marathons again this year in October and November, respectively.

“I didn’t know what to expect running my first marathon,” Giebner said. “After the first one, I said, ‘I’m never doing this again.’ And I think my time was 4:32:00, and I said to myself that I could do better than that. So it just became something in my mind that I was determined to do, because I’ve always been competitive with myself in that way.

“I didn’t tell anyone I was going to train for another marathon,” Giebner added. “And that one ended up being the Presque Isle Marathon, in Erie, and I came in first place in my age group and I got a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon. That was my first qualifying time for a world marathon, which is my goal now.”

There are six such world marathons – Boston, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, London and Berlin – and come this September, Giebner will have completed in, and finished, five of them, as she will fly across the pond to Germany, where she will take part in her first Berlin Marathon.

“Less than 1,000 people in the whole world have been able to complete all six world marathons,” Giebner said. “So this is a big goal for me and is kind of something I set for myself after I went through some hard times in my later 30’s.”

After starting running in her mid-30’s, Giebner has seemingly become obsessed with running – more specifically, running 26.2 miles at a time. But she certainly had her reasons for picking up such an arduous hobby.

“Starting so late in my 30’s, running gave me something that I didn’t realize I needed in my life at the time, because I was going through some difficulties,” Giebner said. “So running was like my outlet, and when I started, I was like, ‘wow, I’m kind of good at this.’ I didn’t realize that I was until I ran the Presque Isle Marathon and qualified for Boston. To qualify for Boston is a really big deal for all runners. Boston is the dream, and when I did it after my second marathon, it was a pretty incredible feeling. And after that, it just became a passion and I’ve worked hard to get into the other marathons.”

Like anything else people love to do for fun, or competition, Giebner noted that she has her good days and bad. But she also made sure to mention she has the support to get through those tough days where she may not be up to completing her tasks at hand.

“A lot of support,” Giebner said of her family. “They know that I’m not going to be around much, because I’m always training. But it’s nice, because my dad has gotten into it more and has been asking me questions. Growing up, I was always in two sports – basketball and softball – and I always wanted to work hard and do my best, and he was always there working with me and pushing me to do my best. So it makes me happy that I’m still making my parents proud. Even at my age.

“Pine Valley has been really supportive of my running,” Giebner added. “The Superintendent and the School Board have given me the time off to experience the Berlin race that I’m going to. It’s important for me that people realize that the school is supportive, the students are supportive and their parents have been extremely supportive of me. And excited for me.”

She also has made sure to set goals to help keep herself motivated and on task.

“I’m going into Berlin and hoping to finish under four hours, that’s my goal right now,” Giebner said. “It’s not to get the best time ever, because I’m not sure if I’m able to do that at this point. But I’m hoping that I can accomplish that at one of these marathons like Tokyo, I’m hoping I’ll be ready.

“I’ve been working hard all summer,” Giebner added. “I put in 411 miles just this past month. I’m running and jogging and really trying to get my legs conditioned. And then this month I’m working on speed drills a lot more, to prepare myself, so I can be a little bit faster over the long haul.”

Given the weather in the area, Giebner mentioned that she does have a preference of how, and where, she puts in her training.

“It might not be all at once,” Giebner said. “I break up my workouts and I’ll do some in the morning and a few more at night at the gym.

“I find running on the treadmill at the gym is definitely easier on my knees,” Giebner said. “And from my experience, my best time ever, the 3:21:00, I pretty much trained all on the treadmill. I don’t like cold weather, I’m not a cold-weather runner. You won’t see me out in the cold and snow with a mask on, you’ll see me at the gym doing 10-15 miles on the treadmill. I just do not like the cold weather, and I’ve found that the treadmill is just easier on your joints.”

Competing in marathons all over the country has allowed Giebner the chance to meet and build relationships with people she may not have met otherwise.

“I met a good friend through running,” Giebner noted of Rochester-area resident, Dawn Sudol, who she met at the Boston Marathon in 2012 “We’ve become traveling buddies. We’ve done the Boston Marathon twice together, and we’ve done New York together, Chicago together, and now we’re going to Berlin together. But she’s also a physical therapist, so when I was going through my (injured foot), I would ask her for advice. And we would bounce ideas off each other and advice off each other. It’s just nice to have somebody that’s supportive and actually knows what you’re talking about, because they’re experiencing the same thing. It makes it nice to have that friendship.”

And it is friends like Sudol who help keep Giebner in the right frame of mind, even when her brain is not in concert with what she wants her body to do.

“There are definite days where you feel tired, mentally exhausted and physically exhausted,” Giebner said. “But I don’t know. I mean you look at where you’re going. I’m going to Berlin in eight weeks and I get excited again. It gives you that renewed passion for running and you get out there and give it your all.

“And my friendships,” Giebner added of what motivates her on her bad days. “I get on Facebook and we interact quite a bit. I have quite a few running friends that are quite supportive and definitely, on those days when you’re not feeling it, they’ll tell you to get out there and give it your all. My family is the same way. I see my sisters a lot and they’re very supportive. And sometimes I am tired, but I’ve got to go out there and get it done. It’s easier said than done sometimes, but once you get it started and get it going, you feel good.”

As for which race has been her favorite to compete in over the past eight years, the answer was an easy one for Giebner.

“I say Boston because it’s the very first world marathon that I did,” Giebner said. “And it actually probably is my favorite, just because my mom is from Boston originally, so I would go there when I was just a kid. And the finish line is a place – I didn’t know it was the finish line – but it was a place that we would always go to. And I really loved Boston and when I was accepted into running the Boston Marathon and I found out that it ended right (at Boylston Street), it was just a really neat experience for me, because it brought back so many experiences from my childhood when I would visit Boston.”

When asked what she plans on doing should the day come where she completes all six of the world marathons, Giebner stated that she planned to continue to run, but to what extent may still be up in the air at the moment.

“After I complete all six of the world marathons, I kind of want to go back to running half marathons and maybe some 5K’s,” Giebner said. “It takes a lot. Right now, most of my days are consumed with preparing and running and working out. Which is OK now, but I really want to do other things and run more for fun.

“If I can go out for five miles of fun running, that would be great, too,” Giebner added. “But running has given me a lot. I’m happy I get to travel and I’ve experienced things that I normally wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Unfortunately Giebner will not be able to give herself the amount of time off after the Berlin Marathon that she would like. But she knows, in the end, she will have plenty of time to rest up before she sets out on her next race.

“I usually give myself months (to recuperate),” Giebner said. “After Boston, which was in April, I actually gave myself off a couple of months because of the injury. But normally, it would be four, five, six months before I ran another marathon. But with my schedule the way it is now … I’m looking to run for more fun, instead of big races.”

Before that happens, Giebner has at least three more big races left to go in 2016. From those races, Giebner hopes to be able to help her students realize a few things.

“With my traveling,” Giebner began. “I’m trying to present to the kids that it’s important to have goals in life and no matter what you’re age is, just keep working hard, because you never know what you can achieve if you put your mind to it. So, I’m doing a lot of things this year based on goal setting and being a part of my travels.

“I’m hoping that I can get to London and be one of the less than 1,000 people in the world to get that accomplishment,” Giebner added. “It’s kind of crazy and exciting at the same time.”

Here’s to hoping that over the next eight weeks, and throughout her trip to Berlin, that all of her hard work continues to be as exciting as all of her travels have seemed to be for her.

“I try to go out with positive thoughts,” Giebner said of her mindset heading into a marathon. “I got injured, and it wasn’t even from running, I was actually trying to kill a spider in my house, and I fell off a stool and ended up fracturing my foot. And oddly enough, it”s kind of taken away from my running. And instead of staying off it, I decided to run marathon after marathon on it, so I kind of made it worse for myself. I’ve taken some time off the past six months to make sure it’s really healed and I’m running better than I have in a long time.”