Jenn Shelton (born 1983) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...

er. She has set course records in several of the most demanding American ultramarathons. Shelton attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

where she played on the

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team. She dropped out to focus on writing poetry, but later enrolled at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

. Shortly after Shelton began running ultramarathons she won several races and soon became one of the top female ultrarunners in the United States. She often runs in lightweight minimalist running shoes. In 2006, she traveled with

Scott Jurek Scott Gordon Jurek (born October 26, 1973) is an American ultramarathoner, author, and public speaker. Throughout his running career, Jurek was one of the most dominant ultramarathon runners in the world, winning the Hardrock Hundred (2007), t ...

Christopher McDougall Christopher McDougall (born 1962) is an American author and journalist. He is best known for his 2009 book '' Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen''. He has also written for ''Esquire'', ''T ...

, and several other ultrarunners as the sole female runner to

Copper Canyon Copper Canyon (Spanish: Barrancas del Cobre) is a group of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico that is in size. The canyons were formed by six rivers th ...

in the remote southwestern part of the

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of Chihuahua in

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to run with the Tarahumara, for McDougall's book ''

Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. Co- produced by Springsteen with his manager Mike Appel and the producer Jon Landau, its recordin ...

''. While running through a remote area during the trip she became separated from the group and was found severely dehydrated several hours later by a search crew. She has criticized the book's accounts of the Tarahumara people for "romanticizing" their lifestyle and for not adequately describing their poverty. In May 2007 she gained publicity by being the first woman finisher at the Frederick Marathon, in a women's course record of 2 hours 53 minutes 44 seconds, racing in a bikini rather than conventional running kit. In July 2010 Shelton won the ''

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'' Marathon in a time of 2:54:23. She says that she finds marathons more challenging to run than ultramarathons. Shelton has said that she intends to run more marathons and shorter races, citing a desire to run faster races. She is sponsored by

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

and competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, but suffered a hamstring injury and did not finish.http://www.flotrack.org/article/9835-FULL-RESULTS-Houston-2012-USA-Olympic-Marathon-Trials#.U0VbdvldXTo (Retrieved 9 April 2014)

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Jenn 1983 births Living people American female ultramarathon runners American female marathon runners Sportspeople from Ashland, Oregon Sportspeople from Virginia Beach, Virginia University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Old Dominion University alumni 21st-century American sportswomen