Jane Hedengren
Timpview HS, Provo, UT, c/o 2025
AthleticNET Bio
Jane Hedengren’s ‘23 season came to an end with two stellar performances. At the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle, WA on Wednesday, June 14, she powered away to the win to record the fourth fastest outdoor time in US high school history for the mile, 4:35.69[source: Track and Field News]. Then on Friday, June 16 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, OR, she sped to a 9:54.38 which was the eighth fastest outdoor time in US high school history for the two mile.
The intense focus and methodical strategy she used to win indicated an athlete in peak condition enjoying the spoils of all the hard work put in. But for Hedengren, that wasn’t the feelings she was having.
Hedengren was exposed to running early. Born in Texas, her father, John, a BYU Hall of Fame alum, would take her and her brothers to his races. She picked up running as she enjoyed the family activity and the outdoors.
She showed promise and her freshman year at Timpview (Provo, UT) found her finishing second at the Utah State 5A cross country meet in 18:16.6, winning the 1,600m at the Utah State indoor meet (5:04.99), and winning the 1,600m (4:50.91) and 3,200m (10:34.58) at the state outdoor meet.
This past cross country season, she won the Utah State 5A Championships in 17:25.40 and was all set to compete at NXR and advance to NXN. She was so confident she would compete at NXN, her family made plans to go to Portland for the final. That’s not how it went.
“At NXR last year, I was a bit injured,” she recalls. “ We decided to go all in. We weren't going to cut my season and we're going for NXR and then NXN. We were really confident that I was going to do well and that I was going to finish top five, and maybe even win… And No, not at all. That's not at all how it went. I finished 11th and my last 200 meters were like 6:40 pace, because I went out with the group, because I was super confident and I thought I could do it.”
Her time was 17:46.80 which wasn’t bad, but wasn’t what she had hoped for.
“That was a sad day full of learning experiences. At the time, that was sad for me, because I really believed in myself, and it was heartbreaking to not make it.”
Her family kept their plans and flew to Portland to watch the race. For Hedengren, it was a great experience as she got to watch the NXN final and enjoy time with her mom, Sarah. It also inspired her.
“ I think that's one of the biggest things that set me off to have a great track season because I didn't want to feel like that again. And so that gave me the drive and ambition to just keep going and to see what I was capable of and maybe even make it to the national meet.”
When committed and intentional about what she is doing, Hedengren says she goes all in. And so with the disappointment behind her she used that experience to grow as an athlete. She wanted to put the lagging injuries behind her and work to stay healthy. She worked on her recovery, her sleep, listening to her body, strength and cross training and “being super smart about the build.”
She again won the 1,600m(4:53.82) and the 3,200m(10:46.77), added an 800m title(2:09.62) and ran the anchor leg on their fourth place finishing 4 x 800m relay team(2:19 split) at her state meet. Sandwiched between that performance was a 4:41.08 for second place at the Arcadia Invitational. All her effort seemed to be going in the right direction, but going into the postseason, Hedengren wasn’t feeling how she expected.
“I think something important that I learned from this season was I was intentional about training and that worked out great in times and things, but I wasn't super excited. Coming to the end of the season, I wasn't super thrilled to be out there which was weird, because it was so cool. I was getting these opportunities, and I was able to go to Brooks. But I wasn't super stoked about running in general.”
Hedengren is a deep thinker and always looking for balance between her running and the other activities in her life like her family and outdoor activities and interests. “Fun” is prevalent in her vocabulary and her mindset is one of growth and learning. For this upcoming season, she again intends to set up a plan which meets all her goals.
“Something that's important for me this season is to be intentional about balance and being intentional about having fun,” she says. “ I haven't written out my goals for this season, but when I do, having more of a balance will definitely be included. Then, it works nicely for me because when I'm in the gym, and during the workout or during the run, I'm all in and I can really apply myself and be excited about it. But then when I'm out, and I've done my work for the day, I can clock out. And I can go have fun and I can still be smart about not staying up super late and, and doing those things every single night, but just being smart about my whole season and how long it is and keeping happy.”
