Carrie Tollefson: Hey everyone, I'm Olympian Carrie Tullifson and welcome to the C Tolly Run Podcast. This week on the pod, we're still celebrating everything that made Grandma's Marathon Weekend so special. My guest is someone who reminds us that running isn't just about fast times. It's about passion, community, and showing up year after year. Gloria Janssen just won the 75 to 79 age group at Grandma's Marathon and shared the experience with her granddaughter in what she says will be her final marathon. Hi Gloria, how you doing today?

Gloria Jansen: I'm pretty good, thank you.

Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ my goodness, you're coming off of this grandma's marathon number fifty.

Gloria Jansen: I know, I I never was planning on doing that. And then ⁓ Pat talked me into it in a way. Well, she gave me the idea.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. I love it. Yeah. So Pat Goodwin is gonna come on the show and we're gonna have a separate episode with her in the next few weeks. But she said that. Pat was the actu she won the eighty plus and I think she was the oldest woman in the race, right? Sure, I believe it. It also happened to be her 50th marathon at the 50th running of the grandma's marathon. How cool is that? If you've ever been a part of the Minnesota running community for any length of time, you know Gloria. She's been one of the biggest champions for decades, supporting runners at every level, including me. And somehow she's still out there inspiring all of us every time she tows the starting line. Her list of accomplishments is about as long as the miles she's logged.

Gloria Jansen: Yes. B yes, but we talked about that and 'cause she was really the second over seventy five, if you look at it that way. So ⁓ yeah, so she so she did better than a lot of people that were younger than her.

Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ huh. ⁓ my gosh. I mean, I forgot to even look at the age graded results, but I think that is so cool. She was pretty proud of that, that nobody else was her age and that she ran her fiftieth with one of her best friends, which is you. So let's talk about it. So she kind of was the one to say, Gloria, you gotta do it. You came out of retirement from marathoning. Gloria owns countless Minnesota Age Group records and was recently honored with the USATF Minnesota Lifetime Contribution Award. But beyond the records and awards, she's simply one of the kindest, most generous people I've ever met. One of the people who knows Gloria best is her lifelong friend Pat Goodwin, who happened to win the 80 plus category at Grandma's Marathon. And if you've ever seen one of them, you've probably seen both of them. Pat, with the unwavering support of Gloria, started the

Gloria Jansen: Right. You know, yeah, because I had been over the years, after coaching some marathon training classes and stuff, everybody said, How can you not do fifty? You've got forty-nine and it's like, you know, it's just not a high priority. And so Pat and I were at an event once and and she said, Well, we talked about how many marathons we had done, and I said, Well, I've done forty-nine. And she said, Well, there's a really good way for you to do fifty. It's grandma's in twenty twenty six is their fiftieth anniversary. And as soon as I heard that, it was like

Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ huh. The team that I ran for, Team USA Minnesota, which is now Minnesota Distance Elite. Those two have done so much and helped shape the running community here in Minnesota. And we love and just are so excited for them both. Pat will join me on a podcast later this summer, but today it's Gloria's turn. We talk all about her incredible running journey, what keeps her motivated after all of these years, how her race went up in Duluth.

Gloria Jansen: Grandma's is my favorite marathon, I have to do it. And so three years in the planning.

Carrie Tollefson: You know what I've loved, like, so we're gonna get into kind of our history together, but I think what's really cool is well Katie McGregor, you know Katie. She and and for those of you who don't know Katie, she's a like a nine time US champion. She made a number of US teams. She is one of the best runners that we've ever seen here in Minnesota and in America. ⁓ and a dear friend of mine, best friend of mine. what it meant to run with her granddaughter, and why this race felt like the perfect way to close an incredible marathon chapter. Good people, lifelong friends, and a lifetime of running. Let's dig into it and let's get after it.

Gloria Jansen: I know Katie.

Carrie Tollefson: Thanks so much for joining me today on CTALRun. My guest was Gloria Jansen. You can find her on Facebook at Gloria Jansen. That's J-A-N-S-E-N. Before we go, a big shout out to Rundot for supporting the show and to Andrew Harley and Sarah Bernie, the amazing producers behind the Tridot, Rundot, and CTolly Run podcasts. Hey, if you're a fan of the pod, we'd love your support. Please take a moment to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or you can go to ctolerun.com/slash review.

Gloria Jansen: And nicest.

Carrie Tollefson: She's so nice. She's a new balance rep. Like, she just does it all, right? She's on the board of USATF. She's coached USATF or she's yeah, she's coached USATF teams. Like, ⁓ my gosh, just amazing person. She couldn't wait to hear all about your story. I mean, she really just is so proud of you.

Gloria Jansen: Yep. ⁓ too funny.

Carrie Tollefson: I know. And we do. We thanks thank you and Pat so much because you two kind of were the ones that got Team USA Minnesota going with Dennis Barker. Like you were really the pioneers of getting our group here, which is now Minnesota Distancy Leads. So let's get a little bit of your background on bringing us back here and why this whole, you know, state of Minnesota is so important to you in in the running community. and leave us a review right there. Hey, you can find us on YouTube, Facebook, X, and Instagram at CToliron or at Carrie Tullifson. And you can visit our website anytime you'd like. Just go to ctolerun.com. Thanks so much for joining us today. And don't forget to get after it.

Gloria Jansen: Yeah. Well, you know, it's it's interesting, ⁓ Minnesota is in the running community because I ran on ⁓ a national master circuit for a while and everybody was so jealous of how Minnesota kept such good records and had such great races and things like that. And it was just it just made you feel really proud that you were part of it. ⁓ but like with the team, Pat was really the the brains and the force behind getting it started. I was kind of like

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Gloria Jansen: I felt sort of like a gopher. Sure, I can do that. But she has real brains and you know, we both know a lot of people in the running community. And ⁓ I remember ⁓ like when you mentioned Katie a little while ago, when we were starting to form the team, I ran in Freihover's and we in from Michigan, Katie was on the same flight. And so when I and so we all got to ⁓ Albany together, and then when I got back to Minnesota, I said,

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Gloria Jansen: We gotta get Katie McGregor on this team. And I I think they're already on it. I think between Dennis and Pat they're already on it. But it's just like, you know, we gotta have Katie and I'm so glad we got her.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah. Well, what has been like the reasoning behind your support in this in this community? I wanna know how you started running. I mean, I feel like I've read through the years that it wasn't something that you did quite as competitively as I did, right? Like it you maybe dabbled in it, but you went away from it, then you got back into it a little more serious as you got older. So tell me a little bit about why this sport is so important to you. I mean, it really is something that has shaped your life, at least that's what it seems like on the outside.

Gloria Jansen: Okay. Yeah. ⁓ well you're right, it it was when I first started, it was just sort of dabbling. Like a friend of mine at work and I said, We should start running. And so then she'd go home and run and I'd go home and run. And then when I s when I finally signed up for a race, and I think the first one I did, ⁓ it was yeah, I think it was the Bonnie Bell, but I don't think it was called Bonnie Bell anymore. But ⁓ after I did that, it was like, This is really fun, you know, and it wasn't I wasn't good because

Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Hmm.

Gloria Jansen: My time at that race was ⁓ it was like fifty six minutes. It was a ten K. So there was nothing super great about it. I would love that time now, but it was ⁓ at the time it was not that great, but it was just ⁓ it was just fun. You know just all the people there, they were all like minded and ⁓ a little bit of competitiveness and I started running a little bit more and h having better results and ⁓ that's that's kinda how it all began.

Carrie Tollefson: I mean it but you were how old, Gloria, when you started that?

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ probably like 37, something like that. Because I did I did my first marathon when I was 39, and that was a couple years after I had started doing races. And yeah, and then ⁓ I was just trying to remember, yeah, and then and then I turned 40 that same year. So then I did another one. Just at Grandma's, I was 40, but I ran the LA marathon for my first marathon go figure. ⁓ and then

Carrie Tollefson: Mm. Yeah. Mm.

Gloria Jansen: Yeah, I know. And then I turned when I was forty I ran grammas and I think I did I could look it up I've I've think I did three marathons that year, my first year of doing marathons, which is kinda crazy. But then I started doing like four a year. And I always but the one thing was I always did grammas. Every year I did grammas for like yeah, for like seventeen years in a row and then I did the half one year. But it's always been my favorite one.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. And that You always like grandmas. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, you doing four marathons a year, you know, years ago was not really a thing. I mean, lots of people only did two because you had to take thirty days off because or like at least twenty-six days off because one day for every mile.

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ huh. Right. Exactly. I followed that rule too.

Carrie Tollefson: So were people thinking you were a little crazy for doing four in a row or four years in a a year? Or four marathons in a year. Yeah.

Gloria Jansen: Yes. Yeah. For for sure. Yeah. And one year I actually did five and that was ⁓ I knew after that that that was too too many and then I switched to two a year.

Carrie Tollefson: Okay. So Grandmas and Twin Cities. Yeah. What has been your favorite marathon so far? I guess you said grandmas, but outside of grandmas.

Gloria Jansen: Grandma's in some cities. Yep. ⁓ I think Paris, I ran Paris and London like a week apart, which was that might have been my five marathon year. But ⁓ Paris was just fun because if you run through the different neighborhoods, some of the were ethnic and stuff, just the way that people would cheer was so much fun to to listen to. It just kind of made you happy.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. I mean you've traveled the world and been able to race. And you know, the in Minnesota here you have like, I don't know, five hundred age group records or something crazy like that. What is it? Like what is it about the it's what is it?

Gloria Jansen: Two hundred twenty-five. No. It's like two hundred twenty six because I set one at grandma's.

Carrie Tollefson: That is amazing, Gloria. And I know that USATF just awarded you a r ⁓ a lifetime contribution award, is that what it was called? And just amazing. Yeah. Just amazing what you've done. So like, I mean, tell me what it is about the run. Is it the community? Is it the sweat? Is it the you know, the the toughness that it takes to be a runner? What is it?

Gloria Jansen: Right. Yeah, I think that that's it. It's kind of all of the above. although like now I do a lot of my runs alone just because it's so easy, I can just go out the door and run. But in the beginning it was like the community because you I mean my friends all turned into I'm my friends kind of disappeared if they weren't runners, but because I had too many runner friends that I didn't need to deal with that. ⁓ but it was it's I mean it was kind of the f you know, the friendship and the competition. I it turned out I really like competing. Yeah, and still

Carrie Tollefson: Ha

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ some people say that they just love to run, ⁓ to run. And I like to run, ⁓ but I really like to compete. It's just fun.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. And you still like to compete.

Gloria Jansen: I do in a slower sort of way.

Carrie Tollefson: T tell me who you ran with at the Grandma's Marathon this time around.

Gloria Jansen: My granddaughter. Yeah, after she found out I was going to run grandma's as my fiftieth marathon, then she said she wanted to to run it with me. And I was like just totally honored that she would even think of doing that. And it was so much fun running with her. It was I mean like we were out there a long time, but we just had we didn't get angry with each other or anything. We were just, you know, have such a good time laughing and, you know, and enjoying the the crowds and and the time together.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah. Katie McGregor was the one that I texted her yesterday and I said, Katie, if you could ask Pat Goodwin or Gloria Jansen anything, what would it be? And she said, I wanna know if Gloria let her granddaughter beat her because it looks like on the on the results that she got you by one second.

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ it it's funny, 'cause when I looked at the photos, and that's okay, you know, 'cause she really would have been a lot faster except for dragging me along. But we had as we were running down the ⁓ the final stretch, we were we wanted we grabbed hands because we wanted to raise our our arm arms as we crossed the finish line. And we sort of did, but I just ⁓ I have this thing when I run, the older I get, I just look down because I don't want to trip on anything. And so she's looking really

Carrie Tollefson: Sure.

Gloria Jansen: You know, strong and happy and I'm just kind of like she's pulling me in. It was fun.

Carrie Tollefson: Ha ha ha. You know, that is great. Did she was like were you guys training at all together or was that just the you were gonna meet at the start line and get it done?

Gloria Jansen: No. Yeah, in fact her mom brought her to my house. She w she actually lives in Madison, Wisconsin now and is ⁓ studying veterinary medicine. So she was training on her own and I was training on my own. And so ⁓ we hadn't run together and we had talked about that a little bit because they said, Well, what what pace are you running for your training? And so she told me and I said, Well, you're gonna be so much faster than me. If you wanna go, you can go and run faster. And she's ⁓ no, I'm running with you. That's the whole plan. And

Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Yeah.

Gloria Jansen: So then I would try to train, you know, so I said, Well, okay, just ⁓ do a few runs at like eleven and a half minute miles so you feel a little comfortable with that because it's not gonna be faster than that. And yeah, yeah, it was just fun. But we did train on our own.

Carrie Tollefson: Yep, yep. Mm, that's great. Well, how did you guys celebrate that?

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ we had ⁓ we went to ⁓ well we we w w hobbled back to our rooms and then her parents were there to watch, my son and my daughter in law, and my brother and his wife from Shaitek, Wisconsin. And so while we went back to clean up, they ⁓ got a table at Canal Park Brewery. And so we celebrated at Canal Park Brewery. Yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: So what do you eat and what do you drink after a marathon?

Gloria Jansen: Well, I had a beer. And ⁓ actually right away, the first thing I do when I get across the finish lines is I have to have something salty, like a bag of chips or something like that. So I ate that on the way back to the room. And then ⁓ at a Canel Park Brewery we had a bun we had some pretzels with the beer and some ⁓ Sichuan cauliflower. I I'm I'm a vegan and so I don't eat any meat at all. So I so that was but y anybody everybody else could eat what they wanted, but I made sure I had some stuff I could eat too.

Carrie Tollefson: Yep. Okay, okay. Ooh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ you know, Gloria, you when you were mom and were you running then at all or did that happen after?

Gloria Jansen: Mm-hmm. ⁓ like when I lived in Eugene, Oregon for a while and my neighbor and I would run a little and it was like really non serious because we were near ⁓ track and so we'd go over and we'd like run a lap, walk a lap, run a lap, a walk a lap for about four or five times. So that was the beginning of my running thing while I lived in in Eugene of all places. But then when I I think it was a few years later that I actually started to run, I just kind of went for a run.

Carrie Tollefson: Yep. Okay.

Gloria Jansen: one night and I thought this isn't so bad and then ⁓ started meeting up with some people. I I joined the ⁓ the North it was the Northwest Health Clubs at the time. And so then I started running with the Lifetime. Yes. And so I ran with a group from there and that ⁓ kinda got me on a regular training basis.

Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Which are now like lifetime fitness. Yep. Yeah. So, you know, I when I was at Grandmas this year I had Lorraine Moller and I had Jenny Spangler and Janice Clecker on stage with me at the Dick and Carrie show and you know, it all of them are moms and they all talked about

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ file. Yep.

Carrie Tollefson: How the sport has changed and how, you know, the mentality has changed. Even when I was racing, the mentality of being a mom and a professional runner really was just it was kind of just starting. I think Paula Radcliffe w just had had her baby or was having her baby right around the same time I did. And, you know, Shane Culpepper, remember Shane? She was a two-time Olympian from the US. Marla Runyon, like just a few moms were starting to try to really incorporate.

Gloria Jansen: Yes, right. Yep.

Carrie Tollefson: being a pro and being a mom. So life has changed a lot. But, you know, back when my mom, who's your age, was having kids and she was just starting her fitness journey because she didn't do s she wasn't able to play sports in high school. So it's really changed, hasn't it?

Gloria Jansen: Right. It really has. ⁓ i yeah, sports in high school really wasn't a thing. I remember in high school, like in gym class, if we ⁓ played basketball, we were limited to dribbling twice before we had to pass. You know, d don't wanna overdo it.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. How about running? Like were they not you weren't allowed?

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ you know, it just wasn't really a thing. I remember there was one person, I went to school in Lake City high school, and there was one guy who ran a lot, and like nobody could believe he would go out and run 12 miles. And you know, and I kind of thought it was a little weird too at the time, but ⁓ now it doesn't seem so strange anymore.

Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ huh. Right. Mm-hmm. Yeah. What's weird, like, you know, I've heard Katherine Switzer talk about how, you know, in her town and around the world, people would say you'd grow hair on your chest if you ran. Like, all these funny things. I know even Sarah Slattery, who's younger than me, had to run in lane three and let the boys run in lane one. I mean, it is really interesting what

Gloria Jansen: Mm-hmm. That's crazy.

Carrie Tollefson: How the sport has changed. But I will tell you, Matt Gabrielson, shout out to Matty Champ. ⁓ he sent me a text yesterday and he thought it was so cool how you and Pat, Pat Goodwin, ⁓ you know, started Team USA in Minnesota and really were kind of like a female. It was Katie McGregor and I came back here, right? And we were sort of the the two that If we decided not to come, I don't know if Team USA Minnesota would have happened, right? That's kinda how they talked about it. And Matt Matt Matt was the year later. Yeah, so he said it was kinda cool because we were f a female led group and it was

Gloria Jansen: I I you're right. They w you guys were the core. Yeah. Uh-huh.

Carrie Tollefson: Dennis, obviously, Dennis Barker, but you and Pat were the two talking. Pat obviously, the founder of the group, but you guys really kind of promoting this. So he wanted to know what that was like for you to kinda say, Okay, we're gonna try and get Carrie and Katie here and then build it.

Gloria Jansen: Yeah, it was ⁓ I mean, you guys are big names and it was just it was really put us on the map to have you as part of the team. And y you know, the other people did pretty good too, but it's just kinda like you built it and and and the stronger the team looks, the more everybody works. The harder everybody works. And it was just ⁓ it was just a good process.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Were were you proud of how the group you know, s how it started and where it's come today?

Gloria Jansen: Yeah, it's I mean it's definitely has evolved really well. It's amazing. I mean like look at Dakota and Annie and ⁓ Joel and I mean y actually go on Elena, all of ⁓ They're ⁓ I hate to even leave anybody out 'cause we've got some really good people on the track too. It's just it's amazing.

Carrie Tollefson: I know. Yeah. Yeah. It really is. I I think back of how things have changed so much throughout the sport, like the gear. But I also think about like a lot of it has remained the same. Like I wear a lot of the same clothes or maybe even some of the actual s items that are in some of the pictures from Team USA Minnesota I might still run in. Do you find that as well? Yes.

Gloria Jansen: I know, as long as the elastic holds. Yeah, and as long as the elastic holds, I wear it, you know. 'Cause some of the things they ⁓ it's sort of like they there's memories with it too. And you just don't want to depart with with everything.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. I know. You don't want to depart with it. ⁓ you were in the cor corporate world for a long time, Gloria. Tell us a little bit about your career and and then again now what you're doing as as a retired grandma that still kicks everybody's butt out there on the course.

Gloria Jansen: Yes. ⁓ We in the corporate world it worked ⁓ when I really started getting serious about running, it worked really well for me that I was ⁓ having to travel to California because we were trying to do some system work on some stores in California. And ⁓ so when I'd fly there, then I would just on the way back, I just fly someplace else on the way back and do a race or do a race in California while I was there. And so that was was really fun ⁓ to incorporate it that way. But ⁓ I had I mean it there was one time in particular because I worked in like the on the IT side of finance systems and the the fiscal year ended on in February and I liked to or at the end of January, early February and I liked to do the ⁓ Las Vegas marathon or half marathon and I almost couldn't go once because we hadn't everything hadn't balanced yet. But then, you know, just worked hard and I did get to go. Yes.

Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You worked for Target for a long time.

Gloria Jansen: Yeah, I started out working for Dayton's while I was there we incorporated so ⁓ the IT was ⁓ centralized. We just had one IT thing. So that's how I started working for Target. ⁓ And ⁓ that was I mean like twenty seven years between the two of ⁓ So that was

Carrie Tollefson: My goodness.

Gloria Jansen: really my almost my entire career of IT. ⁓ but i it it was kind of fun because we started a running club at Target and someone else actually started it but then he l was leaving so then then ⁓ another woman Carla Levere and I started to take we took over the running club and we even put on a race once because one day we had a a run club meeting and ⁓ someone said, Well we should have a race for United Way and I said, Well

Carrie Tollefson: Hm.

Gloria Jansen: I was leading the meeting, I said, Well that that'll take a little work and we actually don't even have a budget, you know, because we can't I don't know how we can do it. And then someone in the room said, Well, I have a budget and it turned out it was a HR director. And so so we put on an HR, we put on a a ⁓ a race. It was kind of fun.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. I know you guys had had a huge group back in the day. I don't know if it I don't know if they've brought it back since COVID, have they?

Gloria Jansen: We did. Yes. Don't I don't think so. I d I haven't really you know, I don't think it it has been because that just kinda messed up a lot of things and I yeah. Yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Mm. It really did. Well, I wanna do a couple more things, ⁓ like some of your favorite stuff, but I d I do wanna know, during that fiftieth race that you just ran, your fiftieth marathon, were you fueling and hydrating? Were you doing all the things now, or are you kind of old school where you stick to what you did back in the day?

Gloria Jansen: Okay. ⁓ no, we were fueling hydrating constantly. In fact, ⁓ Marissa and I had before it started said just to make sure we're gonna walk through every water stop. And so we did just to stay hydrated. And she got me into salt sticks. And so I I ⁓ started using those, and they ⁓ they were great because they tasted like sweet tarts. I just needed the different tastes and gels. But we did both. We'd we'd do we'd alternate between ⁓ the nutrition part, between gels and and salt sticks. And she was using

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Okay. Okay.

Gloria Jansen: more like the cube type things. I don't remember what they're called, but ⁓ yeah, but so we were really, really good about about ⁓ that. And so we were really glad to get to Canal Park Brewery afterwards to get something that tasted better ⁓ to eat.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Charms, maybe. ⁓ yeah. You I get you get kinda sick of that. Tell me a little bit about your training going in. How many what's like what was your highest mileage week? Do you count mileage? Do you do it by time? What do you do?

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ totally. Yeah. I I do mileage. ⁓ my h highest mileage week and I only did it once was twenty, although I've I'm to be like a real honest runner with a watch on nineteen point nine one. That's where I I ended up back home at that time. And I was I was considering going to the end of the block and coming back and I decided that you know it's gonna be good enough. Because when I when I did my first marathon, my t I did two fourteen mileers and that was it. And And so I figured that's why I figured nineteen point nine one would be okay. I had a couple eighteen milers ⁓ also.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. And you do that all as a run walk now.

Gloria Jansen: Actually no my training runs I just I run the whole thing, except for when I stop for water. I'd always I d I don't like to carry water with me if I don't have to. And so from my house I can ⁓ run around along the lake in White Bear Lake and ⁓ and if I zigzag up and down the streets I can get to boatworks where there's like a bathroom and indoor bathrooms in about three miles. And then from there I can go to Spruce Park, which has a water fountain, in another three and a half miles. And so I just kind of

Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Sure. Okay.

Gloria Jansen: you know, it was figuring out in segments like where I should go. I didn't really have well I sort of had a planned route because I knew where the bathrooms were, and the water fountains. But then I'd always go to the Wiper Lake, the YMCA is about four and a half miles from house if I go direct, but I can make it into like an eight mile run. And then so that was another place I'd stop. It was funny that I'd go in ⁓ and

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah.

Gloria Jansen: I s I I had to go in and get some water and then on the way out they said, Well you just got here and I said, ⁓ I'm in the middle of a long run and so i after every after that week they were always watching for me so that was kinda fun too.

Carrie Tollefson: That is fun and they kinda are expecting you. You do a lot of strength training as well.

Gloria Jansen: Right. I do strength training once a week. It's kind of ⁓ a lot of people say they'll do it three or four times a week, but once a week is really it's not my I mean, I I I don't mind, I like it while I'm there, but I just don't feel like taking the time for for doing that. But I go to a studio where it's it's heavy weights and I so I do, you know, heavy weights for like half an hour once a week.

Carrie Tollefson: Okay. And then anything at home?

Gloria Jansen: Nope. Well you know just like yard work and things like that, which is why I'm selling my house. 'Cause I'm I'm ready to be done with yard work. That's right.

Carrie Tollefson: You want someone else to take care of that? Tell me like what your I mean, is it sleep? What it what is your secret? Like, there has to be something that you're doing, Gloria. Cause there's a lot of people that do not want to run, you know, after they get to a certain point. Or they don't want to compete. Like, I even have a hard time wanting to go and race because I'm not gonna run as fast as I once was. It ⁓ it hurts. I don't do the the training to really make it.

Gloria Jansen: Yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: Worth it, I think. So what is the secret to this longevity?

Gloria Jansen: It's you know, it's having goals. It's you know, I I have like race goals that I that I set up and ⁓ you know, I don't i sometimes I don't feel like getting the training in, but if I have a goal, then I kinda know I have to do at least a a minimum amount of of running each week to be ready for it. And so that kinda keeps me going. And the goals, I mean, once you get to the races that are goals and grandma's has been my goal for three years, you know, so yeah, ⁓ you just do what you have to do to make sure you get there.

Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Yeah. Okay. Well, these are some of my favorite things that I like to ask people. So, favorite running memory. Do you have one?

Gloria Jansen: Okay. Wow, there's so many. ⁓ I think ⁓ gosh, yeah. I well one of and that was really funny was I did this half marathon in England. I don't remember the name of it, but a friend of mine and I were there, we were in London, we there was this race that was like we could take the train to get to it. And so we thought, well, we'll find it when we get there. So we got on the train in the morning and as the train is pulling into the station, we could see banners and things. We said, It's gotta be over there.

Carrie Tollefson: There's so many, I'm sure, but what comes to mind first? Mm-hmm.

Gloria Jansen: And so we went over and in that race, it was a half marathon. ⁓ there was a man that was kept running every time I would catch him, he'd surge past me. And it was just like, this guy just doesn't want to be beat by a woman. I just knew that. And so it was kind of like that through the whole race. If you were I'd get past him and then he'd surge. And then at the end, I can't remember now. ⁓ I don't remember who won between he and I, but after we got done, he came over and he said,

Carrie Tollefson: Ha ha ha ha. Yeah.

Gloria Jansen: Well done, ma'am. I thought that was kind of funny. So I had I guess I guess I Yeah, well I think I I think I just kept ⁓ going. And so that was kind of fun just to do that. Actually one other one in and which I would do frequently are races, I'd be running in like any race and some it usually was half marathons, but I'd there'd be like a a young man running near me and they would start slowing down and I said

Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ He didn't want to get checked. Yeah.

Gloria Jansen: You don't want to get beat by a forty-eight year old or you don't want to get beat by a fifty year old. And so that would kind of keep ⁓ going. And they'd tell me that afterwards, that that that kind of made him mentally get into it. So that was kind of fun.

Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ You always like to hype people up though, no matter if you're in a race or on the sidelines or in a room full of people. Like you're always kind of everyone's hype woman.

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ good. ⁓ you know, everybody like it's runners are it's such a good community that you just kinda have to feel, you know, happy when you're around them and want them to be happy too.

Carrie Tollefson: Ha Yeah. I think so as well. ⁓ tell us what your favorite workout is. 'Cause I th it wasn't too long ago where I bumped into you over at a track and you were getting ready to do some speed. So what what is your favorite workout?

Gloria Jansen: Uh-huh. I remember that, yeah. You know, I kind of think a track workout is just because there's structure to it. And I do ⁓ every Thursday, I'm not sure about this week yet, but I guess just because of being busy with stuff, but ⁓ I meet with a group at the ⁓ Southwest High Track. It's right near the YWCA. And so we meet there and for indoor and outdoor workouts on Thursdays every week all year round, and it's just a really fun group. It's sometimes there's

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah.

Gloria Jansen: you know, well over thirty people there, you know, ⁓ never under twenty. It's just really, really fun ⁓ all ages, all speeds, and it's just really a fun workout. And we know it's like we'll be there an hour and then we're done.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's perfect, right? I mean that's the thing about running I always think is you don't have to be out there forever. I mean you could get a really hard workout in fifteen, twenty minutes even if that's all you have. That's the best. ⁓ tell me what your favorite piece of gear is.

Gloria Jansen: Yep. Right. Absolutely. Yep. Yes. Well, I guess it's gotta be the shoes. No, no, no, it's sunglasses. Yeah, I really like to have sunglasses on. Yeah. Yep.

Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. ⁓ Are you a good gal? Are you an Oakley? What do you wear? Mm-hmm. Me too. I love gutters.

Gloria Jansen: Gooder gal, yes. Gooders. You know, I I was so surprised because I had other ones before that. And once I tried those, it's like these are great. They don't fog up, they're just really comfortable. So I've got I've got three pairs of them in different colors. Right. Well you you can set them down and lose them and you can

Carrie Tollefson: Right. Yeah. And then if they're not that expensive so it you know, you can kinda you you're not so mad at yourself if you Exactly. It's exactly what I was gonna say. What's your favorite brand of shoes?

Gloria Jansen: Uh-huh. Go buy another one. ⁓ I always wear brooks mainly 'cause I have kind of like foot issues. I had one year I had I was running the Gary Birkland half marathon and at grandmas and I had to drop out because I I knew my ankle was being odd and I thought I had to get through the race and then take time off 'cause I would, you know, in a workout I would would train and then I'd limp around for a few days and then I'd run again. So on that one I ended up dropping out.

Carrie Tollefson: Okay.

Gloria Jansen: probably about ten miles in. And and then I didn't run again till after I had a surgery on my ankle and I just kept putting that off. So I had that surgery in November of that year. ⁓ and so yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: Okay. You stick to your brooks.

Gloria Jansen: Yeah, so it yeah, so the for my I just need motion control shoes and so the Brooks adrenaline work for me and I'll just keep wearing them as long as they do. I did actually there was another pair of Brooks that someone had told me I could try one time when they didn't have my size in a in adrenaline. I don't remember what the brand was, but I really like those two. But it was all brooks.

Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Okay. Well, you know, I think it's important that you find what works and and you stick with it. I I haven't really stuck with one model lately. I just wear a bunch of different things and that for me seems to help my feet. But, you know, I mean you you clearly have figured out your perfect formula. So let's just let's stick to that. What's the next goal, Gloria? What do you have on the calendar? Do you have something yet? What do you want to do?

Gloria Jansen: Mr. You know, I I have I have registered for a couple races, but I did those early in the year when I registered and so it'll be interesting. I've got one race, several years I signed up for the ⁓ St. Croix Crossing 5K. And it's so pretty to cross that St. that Stillwater Bridge because it's also kind of a gentle downhill course too, which is you know, furs starts off flat and then it's gentle downhill and then there's just a few little blippy ups and downs to the finish. And so I'm signed up for that. I was usually it's my fastest 5k of the year.

Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ it's beautiful. Okay.

Gloria Jansen: I'm not so sure this year because I'm actually ⁓ leaving a trip to Europe on July eighth and coming back on the twenty first and then the race is that next weekend, you know, so that'll be interesting.

Carrie Tollefson: Tell me about this trip to Europe three weeks.

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ I know. It's I'm going with my son and ⁓ daughter in law and we're planning all this stuff. We've already we've already got it pretty much all paid for, even with reserving things. But we've got like ⁓ river cruises and ⁓ just going to we're going through the Black Forest and just stuff like that. It's just it's gonna be but we're stuck I have a niece who lives in in Germany too, her and her family, so we'll visit them for a couple of days and then ⁓

Carrie Tollefson: Nice. ⁓ Gash. Hmm.

Gloria Jansen: Just kinda do what we want. It's gonna be very relaxing, not worrying too much about going to museums and stuff, but just enjoying each other. Yeah. Yep. You know, I'm not sure I will. If if there's an opportunity I might, but I know we'll be doing lots and lots of walking.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Nature and yeah, each other. Do you run while you're on those trips? Yeah, yeah, perfect. Okay, well, my last few questions are the run dot rapid fire questions. I know you've heard me do these before, but I'm definitely I'm definitely gonna get you doing these rapid fires. So you ready? Okay. Run around the lakes here in Minnesota, because we have lots of them, or run along the river road, which is right next to the Mississippi.

Gloria Jansen: Oops. I have. Okay. Sure. ⁓ that's so tough. I think I think along the river. It's it you know, it's not quite as crowded. It really gets crowded around the lakes.

Carrie Tollefson: Okay, that sounded It does. You have to weave in and out. But you sounded so menace out in there, you were like, Okay. So now we know you're vegan, so will you eat tater tot hot dish or would you eat wild rice soup? I don't know. Can you eat any one of those?

Gloria Jansen: Ha ha ha. ⁓ I can, as long as the wild rice soup doesn't have chicken in it, or in the tater tot hot dish, maybe if it's filled with like chickpeas, you know, then I then I would eat either. Yeah. I'm not like a hunter.

Carrie Tollefson: Uh-huh. Okay. So which one or either one? You like both?

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ I would like both as long as they were a vegan option.

Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Would you rather do mild repeats or long tempos?

Gloria Jansen: Mile repeats.

Carrie Tollefson: ⁓ okay. Carbon, plated shoes, or old school flats.

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ wow. Probably old s ⁓ I've never tried the carbon plated, so I would say old school flats.

Carrie Tollefson: Do you think you'll ever try them, Gloria?

Gloria Jansen: I don't know. I'd have to I'd have to go to the running store and just talk to them about, you know, let me try some on. Cause it's never, you know, I know I'm never gonna be fast again. I mean, like, you know, relatively for my age I can be, but ⁓ I've never felt like I had to have shoes to help me get faster. It's just like I have to do the work.

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, I know. Hmm. Yep. I really haven't worn them either. ⁓ one marathon I might have worn like I don't I don't even really know. ⁓ but I think ⁓ my second marathon, I've only run three. You've run forty seven more than me. but

Gloria Jansen: ⁓ haven't you? Okay. Yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: There was a pair of Adidas shoes that I think they had s like maybe a carbon rod or something, but it wasn't full on carbon plated yet. So I definitely need to get into them too. Okay, next one. What's harder? The Minnesota or the St. Thomas Hill on the Twin Cities Marathon or the old lemon drop hill at grandma's.

Gloria Jansen: Great. Yeah. Real one when the Lemondrop Cafe was there. I d you know, I think that's a tough one because they both are at about the same point in the race. ⁓ grandmas or twin cities. I think ⁓ I think Lemon Drop Hill usually melts me faster than the St. Thomas Hill. The St. Thomas one is sort of gradual and lemon drop is sort of unrelenting, but it's not a terrible hill. Yeah. I guess I yeah

Carrie Tollefson: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's just at the right moment of the race kinda gets ya.

Gloria Jansen: Absolutely. And and the weather too, because Lemondrop is really sunny by the time you get there. And the Saint Thomas Hill, you c you can still get a little shade on that one. So it's it's ⁓ they're definitely both the hard points of those of Twin Cities and Grandmas though, those two hills.

Carrie Tollefson: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I know, I know for sure. Okay, would you rather wear half tights or split shorts?

Gloria Jansen: Probably half type.

Carrie Tollefson: Okay. Would you rather run Yeah, well, I get it. Would you rather run in Minnesota winter winters or Minnesota summers?

Gloria Jansen: Olden matters. Okay. Probably summers. You know, even though it gets hot, Minnesota winters there's always that ice factor and the older I get the less I take a chance on it. And if it's if it's a Minnesota winter it's ⁓ and I have to get a workout in, it's treadmill time. And that's okay, but it's tough.

Carrie Tollefson: I know. Shreadmill all the way. Yep, yep. Okay, last one. Will there be a marathon number fifty one? Or nope, I'm good.

Gloria Jansen: I'm good. Not a chance. I got my fifty and not a chance.

Carrie Tollefson: Not a chance. ⁓ my gosh. I can't wait to interview Pat Goodwin and see what she has to say. Cause she might she might want to go for another one. You think she

Gloria Jansen: I think it may be a different answer. She might. Yeah. I'm I yeah, she definitely won't say she is not going to, that's for sure. She's she's amazing. Yeah.

Carrie Tollefson: I love it. You two have been the best of friends and just such great supporters throughout all of our careers, but I think so many others. And it's just so fun to see the friendship that you and Pat have, but also the professional side of things, just to see that you come together and you believe in each other's visions and you help each other see it through and also see see these races through together. I think it's really cool. So it Bravo! I wanna be just like you when I grow up.

Gloria Jansen: Yeah. Yes. That's interesting you mentioned that. ⁓ and you you will be you'll be better. You know, the one thing I was gonna mention is Pat and I are already we're already planning on going to Saint Louis for the Olympic Trials marathon. We've you know, we we were waiting yeah, we were just waiting and waiting to find out exactly where it was gonna be and it's like, we're going, you know, because that's the way it is. It's fun it's fun to to look for those.

Carrie Tollefson: No, I don't know. Of course you are. ⁓ yeah. Yeah. You two are like peanut butter and jelly. You kind of just stick together. Well, congratulations on everything, Gloria. It is just so much fun to watch you and I think all of us, especially I I reached out to Katie and Matt. You know, everyone knows your name. Everywhere every

Gloria Jansen: Yep, for sure. We're good for both.

Carrie Tollefson: corner you turn, every hill you run up, everyone's cheering for you all the time and we continue to do that through life. So thanks for being such an awesome lady to have in our corner.

Gloria Jansen: Mm-hmm. Well thank you, Carrie.

Carrie Tollefson: Keep getting after it.

Gloria Jansen: Well I'll do that for sure.