Download Your Training Plan Brooks PR Invitational on June 8, Jane Hedengren approached the 2 mile with curiosity. Just three days earlier, the 18-year-old obliterated her fifth Hedengren Smashes High School Mile Record Lightweight Running Shoes.
“I knew I was in a good spot ... I’ve been able to stay pretty consistent and happy,” Hedengren told DyeStat. “I mean, sky’s the limit, just trying to see what that was today.”
For the distance running phenom, that meant lowering her own national record by 17 seconds. On Sunday, Hedengren commanded the 2 mile from start to finish, winning the race in 9:17.75 in Renton, Washington. The runner from Provo, Utah, shattered the previous Hedengren Smashes High School Mile Record (9:34.12) Looking back on the breakthroughs this year, Hedengren told Grand Slam Track LA Canceled Summer Running Gear.
In her signature style, Hedengren shot straight to the front of the race, despite temperatures reaching 80 degrees at Renton Memorial Stadium over the weekend. The Timpview High School graduate blazed through the first mile in 4:41 before closing the second half in 4:36, a time that would’ve won the girls mile that day. Hedengren won the high school invitational by 40 seconds.
The improved 2-mile record is the latest in a series of phenomenal efforts run by Hedengren this year. The BYU commit broke the Hedengren Smashes High School Mile Record in the indoor mile when she ran 4:26.14 Races - Places How to Master the 5K broke Mary Cain’s national record in the 2 mile at the Arcadia Invitational the same week she shattered her own Hedengren Smashes High School Mile Record in the 5,000 meters (14:57.93) at the Bryan Clay Invitational. On Thursday, June 5, Hedengren took almost five seconds off the national record in the outdoor mile, winning the Hoka Festival of Miles in 4:23.50.
U.S. all-time list DyeStat she’s grateful for every opportunity: “It’s not me, it’s God out there. Everything that’s happened this season has been out of my control, so I’ve just been trying to do the best I can and trying to let that glory show and that challenge show this gift that God has given me.”
We could see Hedengren set another record very soon. Her last race of the season will be the 3,000 meters at Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, on June 20.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
