Ryan Jensen '20 Recruiting Profile

My long-term goal as an athlete is to represent Canada in the Olympics. My short term goal is to run a sub 50 second 400m and a sub 1:57 800m. I became very interested in the sport of running at a very young age as my father started running when he was very young and saw potential in my running abilities. Although I was always interested in the running, I never pursued a career in it until my graduating year of elementary where I joined a sprinting club. After one outdoor season, I realized that longer distances may suit my abilities better. 

Over my running career, I have learned many things about myself both physically and emotionally. Physically, I learned that no matter how hard I pushed myself during training, I always had something left in the end even if I didn't believe it. Emotionally, I found a love for the sport of running. I keep finding ways to become better whether it's making my diet healthier, critiquing my form, or watching videos on how to prepare for races. Overall, I just always find a way to make the sport more fun for myself. Throughout my whole sporting career, I have been told that I am not good enough and I think this is the hardest obstacle I have overcome. I've always pushed myself to train harder and prove people wrong. 

I would like to graduate from high school with honors. I take pride in being an honour roll student in grade nine and ten with being a multi-sports student at my school. I even received athlete of the year in my senior year of high school (grade 12). Outside of my academics and running I am a certified level one gymnastic coach at a nearby gym where I have weekly classes with kids as young as 4 and as old as 13. My unique ability to connect with kids is something very special and helps me in my everyday life. Running is not my only sport, I've also played competitive hockey for seven years of my life. Being a multi-sport athlete is very hard but has taught me and helped me develop many skills such as time management, as it is very important to balance two sports, school, work and my health.