Meet Jennifer
Read the most recent profile on Jennifer in Aspen Peak magazine, Winter/Spring 2010 issue.
Jennifer Figge, 57 years young.
Ten Things You Should Know About Jennifer Figge
1. In ten years, from 1985 – 95 she ran nine marathons and five ultra-marathons. She ran across two states (Iowa and Illinois), six countries (France, Romania, Thailand, India, Mexico, Iceland), and South America (Chile and Argentina).
2. She just turned 57 in November 2009 but is agelessly giddy.
3. Jennifer lives in Aspen, CO and trains in a pool at the Maroon Creek Club. “I like training at altitude in the cold and snow,” she says.
Unfortunately, Hank does not know how to sail.
4. In March 2010, she will attempt to swim the Atlantic – for the third time. She’s calling it Atlantic Crossing 3, or AC3 for short.
5. Despite widespread erroneous reports, Jennifer Figge did not swim across the Atlantic inside of a shark cage. The shark cage lasted all of one hour. She swam the rest of the journey un-tethered to the boat with tremendous risk at being separated from them.
6. In 2009 during her first Atlantic Crossing, her longest consecutive swim was 28 statute miles. To put that in perspective, the Ironman Triathlon distance is 2.4.
7. Jennifer’s dog Hank is a 150 pound Alaskan Malamute who wrote his own children’s book.
8. Jennifer’s son Alex is a professional racecar driver and accompanied his mom on her swim from Tahiti to Bora Bora in 2005.
9. During her first Atlantic Crossing Jennifer swam in seas up to 30 feet and the only way for her to be safely returned to the boat was with the assistance of a rescue diver
10. Jennifer’s next Atlantic Crossing will probably not be her last.
