Editor's note: This is the sixth interview with Iowa natives, former Iowa collegians or current Iowa residents who will be competing in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials at Atlanta on Feb. 29. The first five were Meghan Peyton, Mason Frank, Andrea Toppin, Samantha Wingert and Ryan Root.
Jen Van Otterloo is a busy mother of three, teacher and marathon runner. The 33-year-old resident of Sioux Center says of her training, "I squeeze it in when I can."
Her strategy of fitting in workouts between her three children's school and extracurricular activities, as well as her husband's workouts, hasn't deterred her progress. The former Unity Christian and Dordt College standout has twice run under the Marathon Trials standard of 2:45, the first at the Fargo Marathon in 2018 and again at the Twin Cities Marathon, when she finished in a personal-best 2:43:59 in October.
Van Otterloo is the epitome of an all-around athlete. She was an all-state setter at Unity Christian High School in Orange City, then a state champion in the 1,500 and high jump in track and field. She also was a two-time NAIA champion in the steeplechase at Dordt.
I caught up with Van Otterloo last Tuesday during a free period at her elementary school in Sioux Center. In this Q&A, Van Otterloo talks about her unexpected high jumping prowess, returning from knee surgery last spring and becoming a mother again in this Q&A with me:
LB: Hi Jen. From your email response you sent me, you must be a teacher.
JVO: I am an elementary PE teacher.
LB: That's why you have time now. Tell me about how you got started in running.
JVO: I have been a runner for my whole life. I enjoyed it as a kid, enjoyed all of the sports. I am blessed with a gift. It was always the easiest part. I did cross country, track, volleyball and softball in high school and was on the dance team for nine years. I did regular dance for nine years outside of that at Robin's School of Dance.
LB: You went to Unity Christian I see.
JVO: I ran varsity cross country all four years. I was all-conference all four years. I was all-district three of four years and all-state twice. Track, I placed more than I can remember. I was state champion in the 1,500 and the high jump, actually. A weird combo, I know. I was an all-state setter in volleyball. I was our setter for our senior season. I would run at cross country practice and then book it to a game.
LB: So how did you become a state high jump champion?
JVO: I would say dance for those nine years. You jump and you jump and jump. I thought it would be fun. I got the natural arch to jumping. I got a coach in high school, Mark Kauk, who got me from 5 foot to 5-4.
LB: What events did you run in track?
JVO: I was usually on the 4x800, did the 1,500, open 800. And 400 hurdles, too. Sprint medley. All of those fun, open events.
LB: So you've always been good at time management?
JVO: Probably with a lot of help from my coach.
LB: Have you always lived in northwest Iowa?
JVO: Born and raised. I didn't go to college far away. Dordt was in my hometown. I went 4 1/2 years. I did cross country my last three years there. Then I landed a job at a school here in town. My husband, Joel, works at a job 12 miles outside of town and commutes.
LB: So there was a tough decision to be made with playing volleyball or running cross country?
JVO: I got recruited for both. I told myself I would do one non-running, one running for both seasons. At the time Dordt volleyball was ranked No. 4 at the time nationally. I chose that for the first little while.
LB: Were you a starter?
JVO: No, actually, no. I was a good cheerleader. I cheered full-time. After two years of doing that, I thought I will switch back to doing running.
LB: And your cross country coach was very happy.
JVO: The guy who had been there for 40 years had just retired. The coach who had been doing distance events on the track, Greg Van Dyke, took over. It was an easy transition to a coach I was comfortable with.
LB: And you ran track for all four years, indoor and outdoor.
JVO: Uh huh. It was good. When we first started (track and field), we had seven runners. Our main focus for nationals was our relay team. Outdoors was the same thing. I did jump at nationals my last two years. They decided to pull me from that to focus on running.
I was national champion in the steeplechase my sophomore year, runner-up my junior and senior seasons.
LB: So somebody really good came in from another school to knock you off?
JVO: Yes, actually she transferred in to NAIA from a different school. I was super bummed. She only did the steeplechase. I did the prelims and finals for the 4x800 (relay). The steeplechase final was always last. I was always kind of tired. Every year I improved my time greatly though. I can't complain.
LB: So you had a great experience at Dordt.
JVO: I did. It was a fun group of people. My parents were always there. I got a new coach my senior year, Craig Heynen. He got me to PR by 4 seconds in the 800, which is huge.
LB: That's a lot.
JVO: I will pop in to see him at Dordt if I have a question about a workout.
LB: Are you self-coached?
JVO: I was when I qualified for the Olympic Trials in 2018 at Fargo. After I hurt my knee last March, tore my meniscus, had it scoped, I said something's gotta go. I reached out to Tim Ives when I was having surgery. Tim is now my coach. It's been great to look at my workouts each week and report back to somebody.
LB: It makes you more accountable.
JVO: There were times when I was tired and I could take a day off. Now I don't do that nearly as often.
LB: Tell me about your first Trials qualifying race, at Fargo in 2018.
JVO: I did qualify first at Fargo, got second there. I wanted a quiet marathon. The weather that day was awful. We had a 20 mph headwind. The last six miles were into the wind.
LB: It seems like it's always windy there. If the wind wasn't blowing so hard the year I ran it, I would have broken 3 hours.
JVO: What year did you run it?
LB: Uh ... 2014.
JVO: I squeezed it in under the standard, 2:44:17. I had 43 seconds to give. That goes by fast when you're tired. I was shooting for 2:45. Also, I wanted to run a PR. My PR was 2:58.
LB: You had a lot of time to get.
JVO: I knew I could do it. I knew the marathon better by then.
LB: This year you ran Sioux Falls Marathon as a training run and won it.
JVO: When you win, you get a free entry the following year. It was local, some of my friends could go watch. It was fun, felt great. I ran 10 miles with Pasca Myers. I finished the workout part of it and kept going. I thought Pasca would win. She let me go. I think she was doing a training run as well.
LB: I still have to interview her too. Tell me about coming off the knee surgery and then running the PR at Twin Cities in October.
JVO: Just by a smidge (PR). I had to come back from absolutely nothing. Eight to 10 weeks I didn't run last spring. The surgeon said he wouldn't be able to tell me how bad it was until he was doing the surgery. He took out 80 percent of the padding in my knee. He wanted me to ease back into it slowly. I was running 30 miles a week and needed 16 weeks. I wanted to prove to myself I still had it. I did. I was very happy with it.
LB: And on a much tougher course ran a PR.
JVO: Uh, yeah. That last uphill, that was a big hill. Atlanta's going to be hilly. We knew we would be traveling to Atlanta this year. I didn't want to take too much time off from work (for Twin Cities). I wanted to go up and back in one weekend. I wouldn't have to take time off from work. So that's what we did.
LB: Tell me about your training.
JVO: I squeeze it in when I can.
LB: That's not a good thing.
JVO: I pretty much have the same schedule. Kids' obligations are the same every week. They go to bed and I stretch sometimes for a while. My husband likes to exercise, too. We take turns exercising. It's a pattern. Saturday mornings I'm up by 4:30 to get in my long run and then have the rest of the day to spend with my kids.
LB: So there's some days you don't even run?
JVO: Occasionally, there's a day off that doesn't work for my schedule. I know I have 45 minutes before my daughter's dance class. I will buzz over there and get six or seven miles in. They (her girls) love to pretend run on the treadmill. They see me working hard and hopefully it will inspire them to work hard, too.
LB: What is your top mileage each week?
JVO: I'm getting anywhere from 65 on up. My max will be 80. Tim wanted me to scale back. He wants me to keep healthy and safe. It's working. I'll take it.
LB: Was the meniscus the first major injury you've had?
JVO: Yeah. I had my gall bladder taken out before I had kids, in 2011 maybe. That was kind of crappy. The meniscus was the first major injury I had. So that kind of sucked.
LB: You probably had a lot of doubts after the surgery.
JVO: They didn't know how much to take out. When he said he had to take out 80 percent, I said, "Uggh." The 20 percent is holding up. We will keep going forward. It's good. I have a really good PT, Julie Arends, who keeps me in check. I go in every month at ProActive Physical Therapy. She (Arends) will give it a once over. She supports my goals 100 percent. Things ache and pop a little more now.
LB: You are one of the oldest runners I am interviewing along with Samantha Wingert and a few others.
JVO: Sam's got two kids. You can be faster as a master. I will try it. The dreams don't die.
LB: Do you have a race plan for Atlanta?
JVO: I am finally figuring out the marathon a little bit. It's still a mystery to me. It's learning curves. The plan is stay conservative and have a good time. Not crawling or crying across the finish line. I'm not going to say I couldn't PR there. I have run quit a bit of PRs here. We'll see. We won't say a PR isn't possible. I'm in good shape. I will shoot for 2:45 again. It's nice to have three loops (on the course).
LB: So what kind of pride will you feel standing at the starting line?
JVO: I will try not to be starstruck by Des Linden and that kind of people. I will try to enjoy it. I have met so many people through running. Ninety-nine percent of us won't be going to the Olympics. My family will be coming with me.
LB: So the husband, Joel, and the kids. And parents?
JVO: My parents. His parents. Four friends will be coming down. They sent me a text message with a picture that "We are coming for you in Atlanta.' I was very touched about that. I have a lot of support, community support, around town. We have a couple schools in town. People see me on the treadmill. And at Dordt's track. People are very supportive. We are rooting for you. My students, too. They know I run. Teachers will be tracking it on race day. It takes your mind off the pain knowing people are behind you back home.
LB: I image there will be a big sendoff for you.
JVO: I work out at Snap Fitness. They asked me if they could host an open house or something before I leave. I feel honored they would do that for me.
LB: Tell me about you goals after the marathon.
JVO: I haven't officially set it, but I will be going out to Boston (for the marathon). Just last year, I was on the (Boston) invited elite list. The week I found out my meniscus was torn I saw I had been invited to the elite list. It was a really bitter feeling. Hopefully I will be in the elite women's start list in April. But then I would like to expand my family in the next couple years. Have another baby or two.
LB: How old is your oldest?
JVO: Six. Six, four and 3 (ages). Three girls, Amelia, Abbie and Marcie.
LB: You'd like to have a boy.
JVO: I would not be shocked to have another girl.
LB: Did you feel your running improved after having your children?
JVO: I read somewhere that soon after babies you have more oxygen. I ran my first marathon after my second girl was born. It was just a goal to get in shape. Then I got pregnant again. Being a mom makes you more time-efficient. I think it made me a better runner. I'm way more organized and motivated.
LB: Did you make qualifying for the Trials a goal?
JVO: The Trials was always my top bucket list. At school, we had a 'What do you want to be day?' I wrote down run in the Olympic Trials 2020. That was even before I had my third kid. The kids asked, "What was that?" "Well, I want to run in the Trials."
LB: Maybe after Boston you can do more trail races. You do like trail races.
JVO: I do. I don't have an interest in ultramarathons, but I have always liked hills and adventure. It would be fun to do half marathons on a trail. I am not going 100 miles (in a race). I have a lot of respect for them and my ultra friend Lindsey Henkels.
LB: So you will be missing a couple days of work?
JVO: We won't be staying a long time. We will be there Thursday to Monday. Quick trip. That's how most of my races are. In and out.
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