I’m proof that records were meant to be broken

—Interview by Laura Binks

Name: Jenny Hadfield

Hometown: Willow Springs, Illinois

Age: 44

Motto: Live actively.

Job: Author, writer, and endurance athlete.

5-minute peace: A walk, there is nothing more peaceful than to move a little bit.

Favorite destination: New Zealand or anywhere off the beaten path.

Must-have gear: Garmin Forerunner, GRID foam roller, ElliptiGO, and a good variety of lululemon running apparel.

Career highlight: Being able to help people realize their dreams and change their lives.

Short-term goal: Write a book on my own and use the ElliptiGO to train for the JFK 50 Mile in November.

Long-term goal: Come up with ways to get youth active.

When I was five, I won a handstand contest. Everyone in the neighborhood where I grew up had gotten together for a party. I am not sure whose idea it was to have a handstand contest, but it is my first memory of me competing. Looking back, I realize it was only the beginning.

I haven’t always been an endurance athlete. I was active as a teenager, but it wasn’t until I graduated from college that I was introduced to running. While completing an internship at GE Medical Systems in Wisconsin, my colleagues would talk about running and eventually turned me on to the sport. At first I couldn’t make it very far, but soon I was running more than I was walking and eventually completed my first 5K. After that, training and endurance adventures became a huge part of my life.

I was introduced to the ElliptiGO while at a race exhibition. My husband was the one who told me I had to try it. I immediately fell in love with it and knew I wanted to ride it long distances. In 2010, I rode over 500 miles from Chicago to Toronto. At the time, the ElliptiGO was officially being launched in Canada. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than riding it across the border just in time for the Toronto Marathon on September 22. The adventure started on September 17, and after six days of riding from Chicago, through Indiana and Michigan, and into Toronto, I had gone 507.5 miles.

On June 13, 2011, after training for a year, I attempted to break the record for one-day ElliptiGO distance traveled. I knew that I wanted to give it a try and that I could do it. I haven’t always been the fastest, but I knew I could go the farthest. The route was in northwestern Illinois on the Grand Illinois Trail and Parks Bike Tour century course.

There were no aid stations or crowds along the course. Just a “crew” consisting of my husband, John Bingham, and friends who made sure that photographs were taken, food was prepared, and the ElliptiGO was in record-breaking condition. After about 12 hours of riding time and 152.1 miles, I stopped at the fire department in Harmon, Illinois. I may have set the women’s distance record and done something no one else has done, but I know for me it is all about the adventure.

Happy trails,

Photos courtesy: Jenny Hadfield;Jenny Hadfield; Tris Bucaro and Kathy O’Malley