Mrs. Jennifer Hedges, a Forensics teacher and track coach at The Woodlands High School recently competed in the Outdoor Heptathlon at Texas State on October 12th and 13th. Not only did she compete, but she broke the record for her age division of W50-54 with a final score of 5,171; 306 points higher than the previous record holder.

Although this was her first Outdoor Helpathlon, she is now ranked number 1 in the US for Pentathlon, Heptathlon, and Decathlon. Her record also placed her at number three for Heptathlons worldwide, only 171 points behind number 1. She also holds the American Record and World Record on Decathlon as of March 2019. 

The Outdoor Heptathlon was made up of  seven events with thirty minutes between each event. The events include 80 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meter, long jump, javelin throw, and 800 meters. All of these events are extremely intense and competitive. 

Although Ms. Hedges broke the record, she “was hoping to have broken it by a lot more points, but it didn’t come together”. Even so, she said “It is still a great feeling and accomplishment. It’s hard to describe, I mean my name is listed in the records!” She also broke her personal record in the javelin event, her second favorite event behind hurdles. The event she struggled with most was shot put. Ms. Hedges said “[She has] really tried to work [her] upper body strength but did not do enough technical work on it”. 

In order to train for this competition, Ms. Hedges did weight training, jump training, sprints, and distance training. Although she normally trains alone, she’ll train with another coach or even some students for Pole Vault. Her length of training time varies, and she usually takes Sundays off or does a 2 mile jog. 

When asked about her motivation to compete, Ms. Hedges said “I love trying and learning new things.” Clearly it’s working out in her favor!