Jennie Gentry is quick to admit that she was an active little girl growing up on Signal Mountain as she played a lot of tennis and was a member of the Signal Mountain Green Giants summer swim team.
She was on the go most of the time and involved in a lot of different activities, but running didn’t become part of the plan until 2007.
She graduated from Red Bank in 1987 and attended the University of Georgia before earning an undergraduate degree from UTC in 1992.
But for the youngest daughter of Keith and Nyla Wallace, running was the last thing on her mind.
She was working at Natural Bodies in downtown Chattanooga at the time. It all began during her lunch break as she would go with co-worker Lacie Stone to the Walnut Street Bridge where they would run as far as they could toward Frazier Avenue before walking back.
It didn’t take long for this 45-year-old woman to fall in love with her newest sport.
“We entered the Race For The Cure 5K that fall, but we were just jogging at the time,” she said earlier this week while taking a break at the Mean Mug Coffee Shop on West Main Street.
“Then someone suggested that we might want to enter the Country Music Half-Marathon in Nashville. Everything about running was so new to me as none of us had ever done it before. We had to learn how to talk and run at the same time,” she recalled some of the earliest tricks she had to master.
Since that time, Jennie has entered a lot of road races and covered a lot of different distances. She’s been a regular participant in the Ragnar Relay since 2010, which is a relay race from Chattanooga to Nashville.
She’s also run six marathons and the Stump Jump 50K.
“I used to do all of my running on the roads in my car, but I started running with the Saturday morning group from the downtown Y. It was a hot day and they had put water out on the course. Bill Brock told me that I needed to join the Chattanooga Track Club and that the membership fee was $25. Heck, that water I enjoyed that morning was worth $25,” she laughed at the memory.
“I didn’t know I was a morning person and I was still smoking when I started, but I quit three years ago and don’t miss it at all. I also used to think that I had to listen to music while I ran as I needed it to motivate me, but it slows me down now and I need to pay better attention to my surroundings,” she continued.
It has really been an interesting experience to see her at most of the track club races. Most of the time, she finishes with a smile on her face. More often than not, she also records a personal best time on that day.
And what has become her favorite race?
“I got a chance to run the New York Marathon a few weeks ago. Someone told me it might take a few years to get in with the lottery, but I got in the first year I tried. It was a wonderful experience. My time was slow, but there were over 50,000 runners in that race and people lining the course from start to finish.
“I had no idea just how special that would be, but I just couldn’t help feeling grateful during that race for having the ability to be part of it. Tears were streaming down our faces during that race as there was so much positive energy present,” she said.
Just six days after New York, she ran the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon, where she paced the 4:45 group. Her time that day was 4:44:44, but again, it was a positive experience for her.
“Bill Brock had a pulled calf muscle and unable to lead that group and asked if I would do it. I had never done that before, but it was a lot of fun as there were a lot of first-timers in my group. I really wanted to race at the end, but I had a job to do. I’ve already signed up for the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville in early December,” she nodded.
Her marathon PR is a 4:19, which she recorded at the Seven Bridges Marathon in 2013. She would like to break four hours one day soon and is slowly working her way toward that goal.
“I’ve been doing speedwork at the GPS track and I also do a few hill repeats. I also do circuit training three days a week at the Sports Barn, so I enjoy those workouts as well. I have to have a goal to shoot for and right now, I’m hoping to break four hours in the marathon,” she admitted.
Back in June, Jennie did a three-mile open swim in Beaufort, S.C.
“I knew I could do it, but I didn’t know it would be that far. I used to be scared to do anything for fear that I wouldn’t finish,” she admitted.
“Running has made me more aware of my physical capabilities, but it took me a long time before I started calling myself a runner. I had the idea that I had to be fast to be a member of the track club, but I’m living proof that you don’t,” she smiled.
“I feel better now at age 45 than I’ve ever felt before. Right now, I run because I can, but I still have closets to clean, books to read and movies to watch, but nobody has told me to stop. I try to be flexible with my running, but I just want to be able to run any distance under any condition without any limitations,” she said.
Jennie and Clay have been married for two years. He was a state champion wrestler at Baylor during his high school days, but running is not his thing these days.
“He hates running, but he’s started doing some trails, so there’s hope for him yet,” Jennie concluded.
These days, Jennie is the director for Center Medspa and has been for the past five years.
Life is good for her and running is a big part of that. Who knows what the limits are for this young lady? She certainly doesn’t know, but she’s willing to find out.
(This is the 39th in a series of runners in the Chattanooga area. If you know someone who might make an interesting story, email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)