- Jenna Hutchins, a junior at Science Hill High School, in Johnson City, Tennessee, broke the U20 outdoor 5K record, running 15:34.47 at the Five and Dime track meet in Columbia, South Carolina, on December 11.
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Jenna Hutchins, a junior at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee, broke the U20 outdoor 5K record, running 15:34.47 at the Five and Dime track meet in Columbia, South Carolina, on December 11—her first-ever 5K on a track. The previous record was 15:37.12, set by Katelyn Tuohy in 2018.
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This was Hutchins’s third record of the year; three weeks ago, Races - Places at the RunningLane National Cross-Country Championships with a time of 15:58.42 on November 21. In August, she set a the junior national class record in the 3200 meters, running 9:49.83 at the Music City Distance Carnival.
Hutchins credits much of her incredible year to her work with her coach, Joan Hunter, who is the mother of pro runner Drew Hunter. The two were connected this year by pro running agent Ray Flynn, who is a family friend. In preparation, Hutchins also worked with Julie Stackhouse, a running coach who has worked with Hutchins on improving her strength and conditioning this season.
“I started working with Joan at the beginning of my sophomore season, and she learned my personality and we experimented with some workouts and found what worked best for me,” Hutchins told Runner’s World. “This past season, we started working on strength training, and working with Julie, I’ve worked on more running dynamics along with more weights and mobility. It’s made a huge difference.”
When the race started, Hutchins settled in comfortably behind the pacer, going out in 4:56 for her first mile. But because the 5K distance is a bit longer than what she’s used to running in high school competition—the two-mile is the longest track race at the high-school level—she came around the seventh lap thinking about how she had five laps to go instead of just one.
She conquered the mental challenge by focusing on one lap at a time. By the two-mile mark, she was on pace at 9:59, but if she wanted the record, she’d need a fast final mile.
“With around 800 to go, I had to run 2:29 in order to beat the record,” Hutchins said. “I really had to kick it into that other gear. I dialed in and focused on finishing strong. I normally have a kick at the end, so I knew I had that built up. I pushed strong, and as I came down the final 100 meters, I knew it was going to be a close margin, but by 50 meters, I could tell I was going to get it.”
Hutchins capped off her race with a final 400 in 70.63, crossing the line in 15:34.47 and setting the U20 record. Her U20 5K time is the third fastest in American history. She now sits behind only Anna Rohrer’s indoor 15:32.03 in 2016 and Sarah Disanza’s indoor 15:20.57 in 2015.
“It’s unbelievable,” Hutchins said. “I could’ve never imagined any of this would happen this season and I’m grateful for the opportunity to run despite COVID-19.”
Her latest record continues to garner praise from around the running world, including some kudos on Instagram from one of her idols, Molly Huddle.
“She has been one of my inspirations since I started running when I was six and she’s still doing well today,” Hutchins said. “That meant a lot to me. The running community is so supportive and it means so much to me. Next time someone breaks the record, I hope I can do that same.”
With Hutchins’s final race of the season finished, she now heads into a rest period before the indoor season hopefully takes place. She has some big goals for 2021, and she plans to keep having fun in the process of getting better.
“Going into this season, I had no idea I had the potential to reach this point,” she said. “Running has been one of the most enjoyable things in my life since I was 6 years old. The records are great, but I enjoy the process more than anything. Racing is a reward for having fun out there and doing what I love. It’s a cherry on top of everything else.”
CA Notice at Collection Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. His work has previously been published in Men’s Health.
