Texas Tech agricultural communication senior Jenna Hay graduated today but that’s not all she has on her agenda. After years of competing with the Texas Tech Triathlon Team, Jenna Hay will be representing the U.S. in the world duathlon championship in Switzerland.
“It just makes me so honored, like I’m wearing wearing red white and blue. When people see me, they’re going to know I represent the United States.” Hay said.
Hay said she hasn’t always thought of herself as an ‘athletic person’ but triathlons have changed that. Her passion for running began when she started running with a friend on the Texas Tech rec center track.
“I just started jogging with her and we were talking and having a good time and before I knew it I ran three miles, and I had never ran three miles before so I was like dang I should keep up with this I’m not too bad at it.”
Hay entered her first triathlon in West Virginia in 2014, where she was working as a river guide. She said she felt unstoppable since she was battling heavy rapids on a daily basis. After doing well in the triathlon, she said she came back to Tech and immediately joined their team.
“Everyday after school I would go and run with these people and it just opened my eyes to the way I see the world,” Hay said. “I see the world from my bike now.”
The triathlon that qualified her for Switzerland was in Dallas, but Hay said it was last minute that she decided to jump on greyhound bus and make it just in time for the race. In a rush to get back to Lubbock to play her clarinet in the Tech marching band at a school football game, winning first place didn’t even cross her mind. It sunk in when she received her U.S. jersey in the mail.
The Powerman Zofingen Duathlon will take place in the Swiss Alps, and will consist of a 6 mile run, a 93 mile bike ride, and an 18 mile run.
