Wake up. Workout. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. It’s 6 in the morning. Timpview senior Jane Hedengren emerges from bed, her groggy eyes gradually adjusting to the dawn. Leaning from side to side, she stretches her sore muscles, tight from a long night of sleep, until the blood begins flowing through her body. She laces up her familiar Zoom Flys and opens the door, welcoming a brisk, early autumn air. Running through the chilly Provo streets, she passes houses where teenagers are still asleep, having stayed up late gaming or socializing—activities Jane often wishes she had more time for. She continues to run, pushing through some nagging aches and pains. She continues to run, pushing through another mundane morning. She continues to run, knowing that no matter how hard it gets, she will never stop. Wake up. Workout. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
This is how champions are made.
Being a champion isn’t about the glamorous victories, or the accolades or attention—it’s about the monotonous rituals of everyday training. It’s about doing the small things over and over again. “Every choice you make throughout the day affects your goals,” says Hedengren, “what you eat, how much sleep you get, how hard you want to train that day, it all impacts the type of person you want to be that day, and overall that season.” Races aren’t won by the most talented. Races are won by those willing to put in hours to perfect their craft.
Of course improvement does not come quickly or without sacrifice. These relentless days of training are tough, and growth isn’t always “linear,” says Hedengren, “it’s a series of ups and downs . . . one day you could be feeling super good, and the next day you could feel like crap.” However, she continually reminds herself to remain hopeful through the many breakthroughs and setbacks of training, when it can be hard to see progress. At times, Jane has had to forgo socializing with friends and other extracurricular activities. “Lots of weekends, I’ll have workouts, and I miss out on plans with friends.” However, she doesn’t view it this way, “I don’t see it as a sacrifice, I see it as an opportunity.”
The success that Jane has experienced shows that her process works. Going into the 2023 Brooks PR National Invitational, Jane was full of confidence, despite her low seeding. “I was very much the underdog,” she says, “there were a lot of girls seeded higher than me, and as a sophomore, no one was expecting me to do anything.” However, this didn’t discourage her. “I knew what my intention was. I knew how much work I had put into this beforehand, and that gave me confidence going into the race.” Surely enough, Jane showed the entire running community that she’s a force to be reckoned with, placing first with her astounding PR time of 4:35.69. Since then, Jane has continued to dominate across the country.
On August 31, Jane Hedengren announced her commitment to run for BYU starting next fall. This marks an exciting milestone in her athletic career as she prepares to compete at one of the premier schools for cross country running.
Through her career, Jane has learned that a true champion is one who sweats from exhaustion when no one is watching. A true champion is one who doesn’t need recognition for their hard work. A true champion is one who knows that the work ahead will be trying but presses on regardless. As this is written, Jane is undoubtedly going to bed, preparing for another early morning. Wake up. Workout. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
