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Caledonia native Jan Schuldt prepares for Boston Marathon |
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By Daniel McGonigle
Argus Managing Editor
Caledonia native Jan Schuldt will be running in the 112th Boston
Marathon which will be held Apr. 21, 2008. The 2000 Caledonia grad,
daughter of Blaine and Dianne Schuldt, qualified for the marathon with
a time of 3 hours, 34 minutes in the Grandma’s marathon held in Duluth.
You might think that running such a solid time and qualifying for the
most well-known race in the world would mean that Schuldt is a veteran
runner. It’s quite the contrary. She only recently took to the sport.
“I think it was to help with that freshman five,” joked mother Dianne.
“I always enjoyed running but I didn’t start running until my junior
year in college,” said the former Minnesota State Mankato runner. “I
started running on a daily basis at that time for good health of
course, but a girlfriend of mine ran in high school and she encouraged
me to try out for the team.” Schuldt did and she ran in college during
both her junior and senior years.
Second marathon, but the last?
The Boston Marathon will be just the second marathon in which Schuldt
will be running, the first, of course, being the Grandma’s marathon.
The young runner has already begun to train for triathlon events.
“I’ve really started getting into them,” she said. “They’re different.
I like the diversity of the triathlons and I don’t think they are as
hard on the body as marathon training is.”
While Schuldt is confident about her ability to do well, she said the
butterflies might creep into the picture as the day draws closer.
“I’m not nervous now, but I’ll probably be extremely nervous on the day
of,” she said. “I’ve heard from friends who’ve run in it that it is a
pretty tough race. Lots of hills and stuff.”
So while Schuldt would like to match or beat her time in the Grandma’s
event, she is leaving the door open to whatever finish she is capable
of achieving that day.
To help prepare for the event, Schuldt said she eats right and runs six days a week. She also lifts weights once a week.
“I try to watch what I eat and I only let myself eat desserts one time a week,” she said of her diet. “My downfall is sweets.”
Entourage
Schuldt will travel to the race with her own posse if you will. Her
mother, father, brother, boyfriend, aunt and a cousin are all planning
to fly to Boston on Apr. 19. While they are out sight-seeing, Schuldt,
who has been to Beantown before, will be resting in the hotel.
“I want to make sure my legs are well rested,” she said.
On the day of the race, her biggest fans will don brightly colored
t-shirts and do their best to support Jan as she makes her way past
their position.
“There will be a lot of people there so I hope to be able to spot
them,” she said. “But if not I know they’ll be cheering me on somewhere
along the route.”
Knowing she is not out on the course alone means a lot to the young runner.
“I’m grateful my family and boyfriend will be there to watch,” she
said. “I’ve heard the weather might be bad that day and for them to
remain out there along the course all that time just to support me and
to come out and watch me run means a lot.”
Schuldt is a medical social worker at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and Methodist Hospital.
You can contact Daniel McGonigle at
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