Fluid Running was founded after Jennifer Conroyd got injured training for the 2010 Chicago Marathon. While Jennifer has run several marathons, it’s been many years since her last one due to several factors, including hip surgery. Luckily she’s been Fluid Running all this time and of course incorporated into her training. Not only did she finish, but she qualified for the Boston Marathon again! Read her comeback story.
– Fluid Running Team
By Jennifer Conroyd
While I have run several marathons, it’s been almost 10 years since my last one. A combination of hip surgery and being a bit “burnt out”, I practically stopped running. I was however still Fluid Running all this time.
I wasn’t even thinking about running the marathon this year. But my son called to say he was going to be running it for a cancer charity. At that moment, I said, “I’m going to run it too, for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Team in Training. My younger brother Chris was diagnosed in 2021 with Leukemia. He was told he had to have a stem cell transplant to survive. Luckily my other brother was a perfect match and Chris received a stem cell transplant from my brother Paul. It’s been a year and the results are miraculous – no Leukemia! Side note: Chris and I ran and finished the 2002 marathon together!
I signed up but didn’t tell anyone as I honestly didn’t know if I could do it. I was only able to run about 3 miles at the time. My confidence, however, came from knowing that I could do a good portion of my training in the water. Which I did!
My run training consisted of only two “land” runs and then two Fluid Runs. I subscribed to Trackclubbabe’s Fast Fall Marathon Plan, doing her awesome speed workouts – one on land and one in the water. Her tips were amazing and helped me so much. Slow runs slow and fast runs FAST! I had never paid attention to my cadence. By trying to stay at 180, not only did it make my runs easier, but it made me faster! I always did Fluid Running after my long run and it made my legs feel like I hadn’t even run. I never had an injury during my training.
I got to the start line feeling great and carbo-loaded! I ran most of it with my son which was such a treat! I felt so strong during the entire race and never even got tired. My #1 goal was to finish, my #2 goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon and my #3 goal was to break 4 hours. I thought both #2 and #3 were a bit aggressive, but I didn’t rule them out! Well, I finished with a Boston qualifying time of 3:57:33 and could not be happier!
