By Kelly Joy — June 2023

Photos provided by Jade Mukri

*“Photo shoot I did while pregnant with twins during Covid. I was pretty sad during this pregnancy, so I was pretending to feel brave and summon some badass energy.”*
*Photo by:* *904 Fitness*

Let me just say before I tell you Jade’s story, is that I LOVE writing these runner stories. Because they resonate with the “ regular” runner, as each person I connect with I can relate to them on some human level. Yes, we love to read the stories about Elite runners, their talent, their rise to glory from adversity, and hardship. As we all know anyone who runs that hard, fast, and long repeatedly has a demon they are controlling, hiding, or running from. We have all heard that story, but it can be hard to relate to when your status is not elite, above average maybe but not elite. All the people I have written about have full time jobs, families, multiple commitments, weight issues, mental issues, heart break the list is endless. Yet these are all people who despite the load of their lives, and minimal tangible reward, still lace up and run, they run for the love of it, for the fitness, for how it makes them feel, it is self-validation, all in the name of one foot in front of the other.

For the simple LOVE of running.

Jade is one of these people, warm, open, relatable, strong, an all-round bad ass. When I sat down to chat with her, I felt it was very apt that the upstate New Yorker was now a resident of Jacksonville, FL, as I think she is one of the most sunshiny humans I have ever met. I could feel her positivity and warmth through the screen.

*Kevin, Sienna, Natalia, Jade, Mackenzie - Atlantic Beach*
*Photo by:* *Stefanie Keeler Photography*

The first thing we discussed is the fact Jade has just turned 36, which I loved, as I LOVE BIRTHDAYS. She is a mother of 3 girls, a 5-year-old and 2-year-old twins, she is additionally a full time DNA Scientist for Quest. On top of that high plate of responsibility Jade is also a runner, mainly 5Ks and the mile, plus to make things terribly interesting she has also been struggling with an Achilles Tendon Injury for the last 10 years of her life, which was finally operated on within the last year.

This smorgasbord of obligations, adversity and life would have drowned many, but this is why Jade is a force and inspiration that needs to be recognized. So, let us start at the beginning…

*“Running a 5k in Vestal, NY as a kid. I won. (I’m wearing a limited too sweatshirt hahaha)”*

Jade has always run, her father was an incredibly talented 100m runner, her mother a pitcher in softball for Villanova. Therefore, she has some good genetics contributing to the fact in her coaches’ words “she has got some wheels!” So fast in fact that in Elementary Jade received the presidential fitness test for her fast mile time and won a 5K. In Highschool Jade was a Soccer and Lacrosse player who supplemented her sports with cross country and track running, to keep her speed and fitness up. In her words she was better at soccer and lacrosse, but running was something she did to make herself stronger and at moments it became a “moving therapy” when life got overwhelming.

Time moves swiftly by, and Jade graduates from the University of Florida with a double major in Health Science and Spanish. She moves to Jacksonville, starts work, gets married to her wonderful husband and has babies. Life gets busy, and as an adult all Jade has left from her days in sports is her running. Yet, that is the eternal beauty of running, you can do it at any age, at any time, for any length. It has no boundaries and is a sport we can mold around our lives. When life gets demanding, I have always seen it as a tangible thing that if you allow, running can be exactly what you need at any moment. Letting go of social and personal expectations, to run, is to be free from your own limiting boundaries.

This may seem all very idyllic, yet, blighting her day to day was an Achilles Tendon Injury, that Jade struggled with from the ages of 25 – 35. This meant she ran in cycles, for 6 months her injury did not bother her so much, and she would run hard, it would then begin to hurt her, and then she would rest for three months. Then the cycle would start again. Can you imagine doing something you love and forever teetering on the edge of pain? It feels exhausting to me – Jade reveals that she hated it, but it became her new normal, and at times along with the pain understandably came periods of depression. Yet, she still ran. She still weathered the storm.

In 2017 at age 30 Jade has her first child, and she ran throughout her entire pregnancy. She had to learn how to be a pregnant runner, as no one seemed to be doing it in those days. “I felt I was good at being a pregnant runner.” Jade reveals. Can you imagine how powerful that must feel? Bearing life and running fast.

2020 rolls around and the world is submerged in the darkness that was COVID. Jade is pregnant again, but now with monochorionic diamniotic twin girls. This means that her babies shared one placenta, and therefore a single blood supply. This put Jade in the high-risk category of pregnancies, with a 10% chance of them not surviving. I ask her how that was, can you imagine being pregnant through covid, not being able to see family, terrified if you catch it and how it will affect the babies, who were already high risk. On top of how you will react to the virus. I can only imagine how heartbreaking that time must have been, death around every corner, completely alone, especially when it is meant to be a time of joy and life. Yet, Jade continues to run, now not only for the health of herself and her unborn babies, but I am sure for mental solace and healing, a decompression of the pressure of life during those intense COVID years.

It was at this point, social media was blowing up as more women were sharing their running pregnancy stories, Jade was no longer alone in her journey, at a time when we needed connection greater than ever, even if that be virtually. This is the moment in Jades story I feel that is inspiring to others, the navigation of stress, and weight of life, where she has an injury, a full-time job, a 3-year-old and is pregnant with twins, that she has to go to the doctors three times a week as she is high risk, ALONE , as COVID would not allow her to have a partner with her. I ask, how did you cope? As I know as a mother of three myself with that load, I would have been crushed into tiny mama pieces and strewn across the floor (yes, I am prone to the dramatics) Jade reveals that she always believed that she was a good candidate to take on a lot, like she was made to have twins. She is very candid and tells me that she was depressed during this time and alongside her running, sought psychotherapy.

“I found myself crying in the office, I was miserable, I had no mothers to connect with, no stories to share,” Jade was completely alone in a pregnancy that was potentially fatal to her unborn children.

Yet, super mama gave birth to two healthy twin girls, with no complications and her husband was allowed to go in with her. “I love being a mother of three.”

Now remember, that also through ALL of the beauty and upheaval, Jade still has her Achilles injury, which is continuous pain, she has had PRP injections, saline injections, physical therapy and eventually has another MRI and they announce that over 25% of her Achilles was torn, likely to rupture at any point. SHOCK HORROR we cry, but NO this is good news! This means that jade can now have surgery that will effectively fix the whole thing. She now has clear expectations about her rehabilitation, an easy trajectory for her recovery, a timeline, yes it would take a year, but a year that has a clear ending, and she can run pain free. Let the strength training commence, and the arrival of Matt Hensley, Jades current running coach. I asked her why Matt, who coaches Jade virtually?

“Our philosophies align, I have never run with a watch and that is something Matt likes to teach, plus he is from Florida, so understands how to run in the Florida heat,“ which if you have never done it, is brutal!

To be a good runner is to feel your pace and let go of your expectations. Funnily enough Jade and Matt were in the same year at school at the University of Florida, and have mutual friends, one being Carley Glasser another impressive Boulder Underground runner based in Jacksonville, Florida. Which is how Jade connected with Matt, 6 months after having her twins, and the next stage of her running journey began.

“I ran an open mile at 8 months pregnant and won it in like 6.20. This was before anyone was ever running races while pregnant. Besides maybe Alyssia Montano.”
*Photo by:* *904 Fitness*

It does astound me that with all that Jade does she is able to run 40-45 miles a week and is working on bringing her 5K time down (her PR is 19:11), pushing her mile time (PR 5:22) and doing some races down the line. We discuss her 1-5year plan, but with a shy smile, Jade reveals that these goals are close to her heart and feels if she reveals them, they will not come into fruition, I get that. She did share that she wanted to run a sub 70sec 400m before she is 40 years old and hike the Camino De Santiago .

*2019 USATF Cross Country Championships with Shannon Rowburry. “They let me pump breastmilk in their drug testing tent and were super accommodating to moms.”*

As our hour comes to a close, I observe Jades open face, and I see the power mama that she is, I can see her love of running, her determination, her vulnerability, her love for her family, and I am so grateful that I have been able to hear her story. Because this is a testament to the strength of the female, the grit that lies beneath all the nurture and love. The ability to always put others first, when all you want to do is curl up and hide, to push forward for your dreams and jump over any obstacle that may trip you on your way. But even in amongst all that she shines with optimism, humor, and a love for her life. Whatever Jade decides to do, I have no doubt she will achieve it and more.

Running is simply the glue to the story we share, it’s our commonality, the thing that gently brings a person in and provides us with the vision to understand an individual’s life around running. If running is the glue, then our stories are the building blocks for us to live, experience and navigate life’s journey.

JADE’S FAST FACTS

Sneakers of Choice - “I have Fred Flintstone, wide feet, so I run in New Balance” – Everyday – 1080’s, Race – RC Elites.
Fuel - Lemon and Lime Gatorade (I think this is a Florida thing 😊)
People who Inspire you - Emma Coburn “ I respect how she handles herself with a levelheaded grace when life gets tough.” Also, Emily Infield, “she is the nicest person, and has answered every DM I have ever sent.”
Special Talent, or Superpower no one else would know? - “I used to do standup comedy in college, and I did a couple sets while I was there.” BTW this is my favorite so far of these.

“To me running is spiritual, it is a moving meditation, it can bring about a flow state and a nirvana of calm.” - Jade Mukri