Days from the final start line of her professional career, Jenny Simpson was locked in — but calm — as she answered questions from a crowd reporters at a press conference.
She’s done it countless times but in this instance the New York City Marathon was on the horizon. And nearly 20 years after winning the national outdoor steeplechase title in 2007, Simpson is far closer to the end of it all in the running world than she is the beginning — or the middle.
She was still in college at Colorado when she used a late kick to win the 1,500m in record 3:59.90 at the 2009 Prefontaine Classic with the bulk of her best running on the way. Simpson turned pro the following year and became a standard for American middle distance running as she cracked the code in the 1,500 and mile distances. Her dominance in the 5th Avenue Mile with seven straights wins from 2013 to 2019 is unlikely to be broken.
Simpson brought structure to the table with each race and knew exactly when to execute, particularly on the high stages like her 4:05.40 win in the 1,500m at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Her national titles in the distance in the last decade meant that everyone else on the track would have to fight for the final two podium spots. And a bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics added to a huge stable of accolades that were a sign of consistency and the beacon for the next generation of American middle distance talents.
In her second to last media session as a pro (she’ll address reporters after the marathon), Simpson was blunt about her last challenge on the road and noted that she’d approach New York like she’d done countless other times for any other race.