Caitriona Jennings started her winnings ways early. You could say it was almost par for the course growing up in Donegal in northwestern Ireland. As the youngest of three girls, Jennings came of age in a household with two older sisters who were already blazing a trail in triathlons. Jennings followed suit, bringing up the rear, but most definitely not in last. She was the national junior cycling champion in 1994 and ’95, as well as the national junior triathlon champion in ’96 and ’97. She also won a national bronze medal in cross-country running and swimming. Alas, given her two elder siblings were racking up similar achievements, excellence, it seemed, was the norm. “It’s funny and even as I say it, it sounds bizarre,” said the 39-year-old. “Even though I was winning national titles or national races, it didn’t dawn on me that it was unusual because both my sisters were doing it as well. It was almost expected so I didn’t think I had a special talent or anything.” Having attended a national Olympic youth camp while still in her early teens, Jennings’ coaches and parents recognised talent in the youngster, but when it came to Jennings herself, she was essentially clueless. “I think maybe the fact that it came so easy, or if I didn’t really fully appreciate it, I don’t know, I certainly didn’t overthink it. I just knew that every time I went out, I was expected to win.” Then in 1997 Jennings headed off to the University of Limerick at the tender age of 17 and found herself living in a flat that was light years away from her home growing up. “I remember my first year I was living in a house with seven other girls and none of them were interested in sports.” “I think maybe the fact that it came so easy, or if I didn’t really fully appreciate it, I don’t know, I certainly didn’t overthink it. I just knew that every time I went out, I was expected to win.” Caitriona Jennings, Irish Olympian Jennings still found time to train, but completing her degree in law and accounting, as well as enjoying college life, soon became the priority. After graduation it was northeast to Dublin to work for PwC as a tax director in 2001, while also studying to be a chartered accountant. Jennings found fitness again, heading out for regular runs, but her reasoning had changed a bit. “I did it because I wanted to not put on too much weight to be honest,” she said with a chuckle. “Certainly there were no big ambitions at that point. I ran with their cross-country team, it wasn’t a terribly competitive team, though.” Are there spots in other races now the Hong Kong Marathon is cancelled? However, one of the team’s coaches, Terry McConnon, noticed talent in Jennings and by 2007, he started pushing her harder than most of the other recreational runners. Jennings said he did it in a way that the hard-nosed, determined Irishwoman responded perfectly to. “He never really told me,” Jennings said . “But, he used to give me a hard time if I didn’t show up for training on a Saturday morning. So I would go because I would be afraid of him. Even if I was out the night before I would go because I knew he would get upset.” Jennings now knows she was an elite athlete both outside and in. With a high VO2 max, lactic acid threshold and larger than normal lungs, she also had an upbringing primed for excellence, a household where gold was the only accepted colour to wear around the neck. Delighted to top the podium in the Hong Kong Island 10km today. @gonerunning_hk @JointDynamics pic.twitter.com/zz6L4heyKE — Caitriona jennings (@cjennings1x) December 8, 2019 “I think I have a gift and I think it comes easier to me than it does other people,” she said. “I know people who train a lot harder and they’re not as fast. Part of it was nature, part of it was my parents’ encouragement. “I genuinely think I have a good ability to deal with pain, and I actually kind of relish it in a way, you know when you get to a point in training or a race where you think, ‘I can’t do this any more.’ I’m like, ‘Yes! I’ve gotten to this point, now I can enjoy it.’ And I associate the pain with doing well and I so badly want to do well and be pleased with my performance.” But it wasn’t until 2010 that her career took off again like it did in adolescence. Jennings found out she was more suited for road racing than cross-country. Being heavier – or “obese” as she jokes – than a normal runner meant the wet, soggy trails in Ireland did her no favours. However out on the road, her pristine gait (running stride) meant she was built to pound the pavement. “I’ll bounce off the road but I’ll sink into the cross-country trails, and we’re talking Ireland here where it’s really wet, through mud and puddles.” Timing was also perfect. The Irish government was hoping to send some runners to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, but Jennings crushed the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon in April (2:36:14) and nabbed one of three Irish female spots in the marathon for the 2012 London Olympics. Amid the excitement of qualifying, Jennings said this is when things went awry. Very pleased to win the 20th Cum Shek Kong 30k, in a new course record time @gonerunning_hk @JointDynamics pic.twitter.com/QFu4eCWB0Q — Caitriona jennings (@cjennings1x) December 16, 2019 “That’s when all the wheels came off,” Jennings admitted. “I took time off work and I had all this spare time, and it wasn’t until like the first couple weeks in July that I got injured and the marathon was on the fifth of August, I was so close to getting away with it.” The culprits were common ones among runners: plantar fasciitis, which is when tissue along the bottom of the foot gets inflamed, and a stress fracture in her foot. At the age of 32 heading into the biggest race of her life, Jennings was a mess physically, but said mentally she was still raring to go. “I was still convinced I would be totally fine on race day.” Jennings was not, finishing last in London. She looks back on the experience with perspective now, having been able to process it and deconstruct how it all fell apart so quickly. She said constant pressure from those around her to lose weight (which many female runners still have to deal with) to gain an advantage took its toll as she dropped too many pounds too quickly, combined with a rigorous training programme. Jennings said it was a few solid years before she started to find peace with what had happened. “It took me a long time to process, if someone said to me, ‘Oh, you were at the Olympics,’ I would basically be crying. It was like that for about five years, it’s only recently I’ve been able to process it.” Runners react to Hong Kong Marathon cancellation in mix of emotions Not only has Jennings processed it, her London let-down led her to a new passion: ultramarathons. In 2015, she represented Ireland at the IAAF World Championship 50K, finishing fourth, and came second in the Irish Marathon Championships three years in a row from 2016-18. A string of impressive finishes in multiple 50k races have brought her to present day, and Hong Kong found its way into the cards. She moved to the city last summer, taking a job with CDB Aviation as the vice-president of risk (her husband also works in the same industry) and has found a new life when it comes to running. Her latest victories were in the China Coast Half, the Hong Kong 10K and the Mount Butler Heritage 15k. “People had said to me after London, ‘You really have a high pain threshold.’ A couple of people also said, ‘You would make a great ultrarunner because you have the talent and we can see you also have the grit.’” Jennings credits her upbringing for all her remarkable achievements to a manta she’s carried all the way forward from the family home in Donegal. “If you exceed excellence, then you will get praise.”