Jordan Hasay 2019 Boston Marathon Recap

For Jordan Hasay running at a highly competitive level is a gift.  Born and raised in Arroyo Grande, California, Jordan was unanimously selected as the 2008 Girls High School Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News. A short time later, in 2009, she landed on the cover of Track and Field News magazine, being the ninth high school athlete and third woman to receive such and honor.  In college, Jordan studied Business Administration at the University of Oregon earning 18 All-American honors. 

In Jordan’s 2017 marathon debut, she placed third in the Boston Marathon with a time of 2:23:00, which is the fastest American debut ever at the Boston Marathon.  She then followed up with a third-place finish at the 2017 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:20:57. 

For as much success as Jordan has experienced, her story is about much more than the run.  It is about reflection, recovery, and resilience. 

Reflection

Jordan has a positive mental mindset and a friendly smile no matter what challenges she is facing. Jordan also considers herself as a student of the marathon.  “My parents never put any pressure on me, running was always fun.  Sometimes you must learn by going through the ups and downs. You’re almost more motivated by the lows than the highs.  It’s certainly not easy going through defeat but at the end of the day, I would be out there running no matter what; even when I was losing races.”  

Over the last two years Jordan has indeed faced both the highs and the lows; using them both as an opportunity to learn more about the sport she loves.  2017 brought her first two marathons where Jordan was still learning her strengths and her pace at different stages of each race.  2018 saw Jordan on the sidelines with an injury that did not allow her to participate in either race.  Both years tested Jordan, but she is as hard working as she is competitive and took every challenge in stride.  

Recovery

After experiencing her stress fracture, Jordan took two months off from running.  “It was very tough, but I knew that I had to commit to resting both physically and mentally.  I tried to use it as an opportunity to spend time with family and friends and working on my flexibility by doing yoga.”  

Jordan incorporates stretching and strength training into her recovery and workout routines, making sure to pay close attention to her feet and calves.  Stretching before and after each work out can help to avoid injury by resetting the body and ease post-workout soreness.  

Nutrition also plays an important part in both training and recovery.  “I drink BiPro Protein Water™ right after my long runs because protein helps my muscles recover quickly before my strength training session,” Hasay said. “Then, right after I’m done lifting weights I have another serving of BiPro ELITE™ protein to help my body bounce back from a long day of training.”

Jordan’s BiPro recommendation is Berry BiPro Protein Water™ and BiPro ELITE™ French Vanilla protein powder, which contains 2.5 grams of leucine per serving.  The leucine from whey protein isolate has a superior impact on muscle protein synthesis, the process of repairing broken down muscles, to allow them to grow and become stronger.  

“I eat about 4,000 calories per day!  I’ve gotten to the point of knowing if I am not eating enough.  I can tell by the way I feel; no energy during workouts or not sleeping well.  I stick with a lot of healthy foods, like protein, to make sure I feel as strong as possible.  During recovery from my injury I added in extra BiPro® whey protein powder before bed.”  

Resilience

April 15, 2019 officially marked Jordan’s triumphant return to competitive running where she placed third in the Boston Marathon.  With a time of 2:25:20, Jordan was only one minute and 49 seconds behind the first-place finisher, Worknest Dogefa of Ethiopia.  With this, Jordan was the first of the U.S. woman participants to cross the finish line in 2019.

“I’ve always believed that running is the best metaphor for life.  There are so many ups and downs and I’ve come to learn that the most important part is the journey, not necessarily the destination.  The ups and downs I’ve gone through during my running career have taught me to enjoy the struggle, to simply live in the moment, and give my best; because untimely that is all anyone can do.”  

Jordan plans to return to Chicago in 2019 in hopes of another great finish. Again, taking what she’s learned through racing and recovery, hoping to set her own personal best.