PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. — A Prairie Village woman is headed to Paris to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Jennifer Elliott will be running in the Marathon Pour Tous, a mass participation marathon for amateur runners from around the world.
It is the first time in history the public has been invited to participate in the Olympics.
More than 20,000 participants will run the same marathon course as Olympic athletes. They will run in the break between the men’s and women’s marathons.
“I’m super excited about the opportunity to do something that’s never been done previously in the Olympics" Elliott said. "Who knows if they’ll do something like that again. I would love to be able to see those elite athletes do what I like to do and be up close and see that.”
With all the shiny medals on her basement wall, it may come as a surprise to many that Elliott was not always serious about running.
She took about 10 years off after getting married and having a son.
But then a global pandemic hit. Working in healthcare, she brushed off her sneakers and hit the track again as a stress reliever.
Four years later, she is now a Six-Star Finisher, after completing marathons in Chicago, London, New York, Tokyo, Berlin and Boston.
During that journey, she found out about Marathon Pour Tous in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“For months and months and months, nothing," Elliott said. "And then one day, I was looking in my spam folder and I found the Congratulations email. And it actually said on it, 'You have seven days to reply to this email."' "And I was on the seventh day,” said Elliott.
She says this one is not about breaking personal records.
“Sometimes I run a few marathons where I’ve been trying to work really hard and push myself and then I lose what’s happening around me,” said Elliott “And so my goal is to just enjoy it, maybe take some pictures along the course because it’ll be very unique.”
Runners will pass by 26.2 miles of iconic Paris landmarks along the Seine River.
It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for not only Elliott, but her longtime coach and running mates who have cheered her on along the way.
“We live through each others adventures, so we’ll want to hear all about it,” said her coach, Eladio Valdez. “We can’t all go to Paris, but through Jennifer, we get to kind of go through Paris and we’re excited for her.”
The training to get to Paris is not easy. Elliott runs four to five times a week, four to five hours every Saturday and works out every morning.
But if running marathons have taught her anything, she is capable of so much more than she thinks.
“It’s gonna be dark, it’s going to be very hilly." Elliott said. "My understanding is it’s gonna be a very challenging course as Olympic courses come,” said Elliott. “I’m just looking forward to taking it all in.”
KSHB 41 reporter JuYeon Kim covers agricultural issues and the fentanyl crisis. If you have a story idea to share, send her an email.