Britton native Jenn (Watkins) Osendorf realized a goal she started by accident in 2014 when she completed a half-marathon in Hawaii 10 days ago, and in the process compiled “miles of memories.”
The 1990 Britton High School graduate, daughter of Bob and Kay Watkins of Britton and now a resident of Lakeville, MN, had a goal of running a race in all 50 states by the age of 50, and The Hapalua, Hawaii’s largest halfmarathon with 6,029 competitors, was the final piece to realizing that dream.
“I’ll blame the 2014 Goofy Challenge and my first 26.2mile marathon at Disney World for this crazy adventure,” said Osendorf. “I’m pretty sure I said ‘one and done!’ Famous last words! I proceeded to run a half in WI/SD and the Avengers Half at Disneyland to complete the Coast-2-Coast Challenge. I was officially hooked on “runcations,” so in 2015 I decided to go for 50 states by age 50 (Oct. 2022), and finish in Hawaii.”
Bug Bit In 7th Grade
The running bug actually bit when she started cross country and track in seventh grade under long-time Britton coach Orville Pfitzer.
“I’ve really been running since I was 12 and have never really taken time off except to have two babies. I kind of blame it on Mister Pfitzer. There weren’t many of us girls out for cross country so he made me run with the boys so I would get faster. Faster people make you faster.”
Osendorf has another Britton role model that impacted her running career – Frank Farrar.
“Frank was definitely an inspiration. I used to be a lifeguard at the pool and Frank would come early in the mornings and go swimming. He was always there and always just kept going. I would love to be like Frank and keep going into my 90’s.”
Osendorf points to the halfmarathon as her “sweet spot,” and her original goal was to run the half in all 50 states. That didn’t happen, but she ran one Ragnar Ultra, five full marathons, 31 half-marathons, and 14 combined 5K, 8K, and 10K races on the way to achieving her goal.
“Every time I look at the medal hangar, I smile thinking of the miles of memories. I was lucky enough to share 23 states with family/friends from all over the country and always met new friends when running solo in the other states.”
COVID Alters Plans
She had also originally planned to run in all 50 states by her 50th birthday in October, but the COVID pandemic got in the way. So she just revised that goal to 50 states while she was still 50.
“I was cruising along with 32 states done and on target to beat my goal date, then COVID hit and the world stopped for a while. I thought how was I ever going to do this now. No races were happening and I really got stressed out about not hitting my goal. I had put out to the universe what my goal was and now everybody will know I’m not going to do this.”
But sometimes you just have to make lemonade out of those lemons, and that’s exactly what Osendorf did.
“I had to pivot a little bit. I was okay with not hitting 50 half-marathons and just medaling in all 50 states. And three states held virtual events that I was able to complete during that time. I do plan to actually go back and run those events in person in the next year in West Virginia, South Carolina, and Oregon.”
Journey Of Lifetime
It certainly has been a journey of a lifetime, but Osendorf’s most vivid memory will likely be the final event in Hawaii. It wasn’t her best time by far with 85% humidity, 80 degree temps, pouring rain, and a mountain to climb all taking their toll, but that feeling as she crossed the finish line will be forever etched in her memory.
“I bawled my head off. My husband and youngest son were with me and it was so emotional. I had been working at it since 2015 and thought, ‘Holy cow, I did it. It felt so good. Hawaii will always hold an extra special place in my heart. Waikiki, Aloha, and Mahola for the best finish to a big goal!”
The Britton native is by no means finished running – she just hasn’t set too many new goals yet. But the camaraderie she feels for her fellow runners continues to drive her forward.
She has chronicled her journey through social media and had plenty of supporters along the way. But support goes both ways.
“Just having people reach out to me is exciting. One person was going to run her first 5K and asked if I would run with her. Another was going to run the Chicago Marathon through a charity and wanted to know about any tips to run a marathon. Those kinds of things make me so excited. Times kind of go out the window and pace and ability are all relative. Anybody out there running is beating everybody on the couch, and I just want people to know that they can do it.”
It has also been important for her to serve as a role model for her children.
“My 14-year-old started cross country and runs a mile in track, and he had his eyes on me, watching what his “old” mom was doing, and he saw me finish a goal.”
Running Is Lifestyle
Running is really a lifestyle for Osendorf. She ran 2015 miles in the year 2015 and 2016 miles the following year and puts in about 1,000 miles annually. After working for Wells Fargo for 21 years, she began work in February with Be The Match, a non-profit organization that works with stem cell transplant for patients with leukemia and lymphoma.
But she also admits to not really loving that day-to-day training required to maintain her running schedule.
“I run a lot of miles and have a love-hate relationship with it. I’m a terrible trainee. I don’t love to follow a training plan but do love the finish line, the medal, the camaraderie, and hearing everybody roar for those racers doing their first 5K and joining the running community.”
Yes, Osendorf achieved her goal, but she plans to use that as a launching pad into the future.
“I’m not as fast as I was in 2015, but crossing the finish line in Hawaii made me realize that I’m just as determined and grateful to cross every finish line now as I was when I started this running gig as seventh grader in cross country. Cheers to more miles, a few more runcations, and whatever goal is next!”
