Española Hospital emergency room nurse Jennifer Valdez was simply trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon Sunday when she competed at the Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, but she became the center of attention when she was the first female runner to cross the line.
“That wasn’t my goal (to win),” Valdez said Monday. “I didn’t even realize I’d won until that afternoon. I didn’t know why the newspaper was interviewing me or why they were following me on a bicycle.”
Valdez crossed the finish line with a time of 3 hours, 41 minutes and 17 seconds. Ironically, she was 18 seconds shy of the time she needed in order to to qualify for Boston.
“I needed to run a 3.40:59,” she said. “That was a big disappointment.”
Valdez, 27, grew up in Santa Fe and began running after high school for fitness.
She received an associate’s degree in nursing from Santa Fe Community college in 2004 and her bachelor’s in nursing from the University of New Mexico the following year.
Valdez is also a certified personal trainer and a nutrition consultant.
She began running seriously about three years ago and credits her aunt, Nancy Auge, for getting her to run in marathons.
Valdez ran in the Rock and Roll Marathon in 2007 in Phoenix, Ariz., and in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. in October 2008.
“I started training (for Duke City) about 18 weeks ago,” Valdez said. “I ran about 50 miles a week.”
She moved to Española about five years ago with her husband, Sam Valdez, whose family is originally from Hernandez. Valdez has worked at the Española Hospital as an emergency room nurse for four years.
“It’s stressful, “she said. “No day is ever the same.”
Valdez plans to run in the Rock and Roll Marathon again in another attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
“I plan to continue running and trying to qualify for Boston,” she said.