Gabe Jennings 2:19 Marathon… what’s the story? and what's he up to now?

Most of his decisions were not logical. He and Suzy Favor would have been a good match.

No idea.

Just bumping cuz I really liked Gabe and all his eccentricities. Curious to hear if anyone knows more about this. Or even what Gabe is up to now.

I was there in the race. I don't really remember much about the build up, but don't think he or anyone made a big deal about it. He just showed up and it was like, woah, Gabe Jennings is running!

It was one of the colder CIMs with the start in the low 20s and it didn't get much above 30, maybe 35 by the finish. His post-race interview was pretty funny. He said that really hurt and he felt like he wanted to cry after about 19 miles.

Any relation to Jabe Jennings?

I didn't know anything about this, but Gabe is probably my favorite runner ever. A while ago I found some published letters from his dad on the waybackmachine, posted on some old website. It was a multi-part series updating them on Gabe's journey to South America. Pretty interesting read. Anyone got a link, I can't seem to find them.

Gabe's trip to South America most likely extended to a trip on the CIM course, it must have gone a little something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vUhSYLRw14

Plenty of threads here on Gabe at CIM in 2005. He lead most of the race but finished 2nd. Winner went 2:18.

Gabe did a 29:5X 10k road race during his build up, also 2nd place.

You can find more detailed accounts of the race, just search Gabe Jennings CIM.

I also ran that day wrote:

I was there in the race. I don't really remember much about the build up, but don't think he or anyone made a big deal about it. He just showed up and it was like, woah, Gabe Jennings is running!

It was one of the colder CIMs with the start in the low 20s and it didn't get much above 30, maybe 35 by the finish. His post-race interview was pretty funny. He said that really hurt and he felt like he wanted to cry after about 19 miles.

I was also there at about the 20-mile mark and he had a sizable lead there but cratered over there the last 10K. I do think he ran it on a whim and that he never had any potential for the roads.

Jennings career is a unique one, but really only special for a year. His 2000 season was so long, peaked at trials and really spent the rest of his career trying find that mojo back.

I’ve searched high and low for some of his training back w Vin and during his peak season of 2000 he was logging 3 hour long runs once a wk. had a solid base and ran lots of 200s.

Problem was after that 2000 gabe was fried. He went on that mission to improve his biomechanics and it started w cycling to Brazil or something where he contracted numerous diseasesand almost died.

He put together a respectable season in 2006 but it help that Webb, who was at his peak, was injured that season.

As much hype as gabe got, he was only a 3:58 miler. Sure he ran 3:35, which is still one of my most favorite races to watch… but 3:58 is a dime a dozen now at the collegiate level.

Last I saw if gabe, he looked rough.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sBxtCW5mS3U

Farm Team Fan wrote:

Plenty of threads here on Gabe at CIM in 2005. He lead most of the race but finished 2nd. Winner went 2:18.

Gabe did a 29:5X 10k road race during his build up, also 2nd place.

You can find more detailed accounts of the race, just search Gabe Jennings CIM.

And here I thought I had searched all the Gabe Jennings/Jabe Gennings threads from back in the day but, low and behold, his CIM result was covered. Though I still couldn’t find any concrete reason why he ran it. Here’s the old thread for those curious:

He must have taken 87,495 steps during that race.

GFC wrote:

As much hype as gabe got, he was only a 3:58 miler. Sure he ran 3:35, which is still one of my most favorite races to watch… but 3:58 is a dime a dozen now at the collegiate level.

You cant merge today's era with the previous.

First, 200m indoor, flat surfaced tracks for the most part Second, shoes were lightweight and functional but nothing like reuptake today where it puts an mph in your bop.

Gabe was a prime mover for the distance renaissance in America. Broe, Goucher, Torres, etc. He was eccentric as people say and pretty much a 90s prodigy. He was the fastest high schooler in 27 years and had demi god-like properties. He was the complete spectacle.

At first you may think he is crazy but then youd watch him run and wonder if what he was babbling about was indeed right. Quite the character!

It was when I was in high school in the Sac Area and I watched the race on local TV. Gabe had no idea what he was doing and went out way too hard and blew up. I want to say the winner was 2:15 or 16. Gabe was a ways ahead although at this point I can't remember what pace he was on. I believe he did train seriously for the race but no idea about his mental process going in. Gabe was truly nuts but in a good way.

At this point in US running, there was only a handful of guys who could go sub 2:18. This was right after Meb and Deena's shocking Athens performances and the new US running boom was just building. Hard to imagine with where we are at now but in many events the US could not send a full team since we only had one or sometimes no guys hitting an A standard. Anyone who wants to complain about any US distance performance in 2021 at the Olympics just look at the 04 team sans the marathon. 800 to 10K it was just a wasteland.

I loved watching Gabe run. Such and inspiration, I do think he could have gone a lot further in his running career had he been more focus and less distracted with the side things, but its his life to live.

Here is a pic from 2018 of Jennings:

https://isiphotos.photoshelter.com/image/I0000GZb5JeL1Q.Q

Colby wrote:

I loved watching Gabe run. Such and inspiration, I do think he could have gone a lot further in his running career had he been more focus and less distracted with the side things, but its his life to live.

Here is a pic from 2018 of Jennings:

https://isiphotos.photoshelter.com/image/I0000GZb5JeL1Q.Q

Is that Steven Segal with him?

I also ran that day wrote:

I was there in the race. I don't really remember much about the build up, but don't think he or anyone made a big deal about it. He just showed up and it was like, woah, Gabe Jennings is running!

It was one of the colder CIMs with the start in the low 20s and it didn't get much above 30, maybe 35 by the finish. His post-race interview was pretty funny. He said that really hurt and he felt like he wanted to cry after about 19 miles.

I was also in the race that year. All my CIMs kind of blend together in my mind. It wasn’t one of the rainy ones so it must have been freezing. I remember him also in the Humboldt Half, I think it was the same year. Not sure how the timeline went along with the famed bike ride from South America.

GFC wrote:

Last I saw if gabe, he looked rough.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sBxtCW5mS3U

What makes you say that?

never heard of him wrote:

Any relation to Jabe Jennings?

Thanks fellow LR veteran

Gabe Jennings's Teeth wrote:

GFC wrote:

Last I saw if gabe, he looked rough.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sBxtCW5mS3U

What makes you say that?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he's a smoker now. That isn't meth mouth. That IS a pack+ a day mouth.

He's not visibly overweight, and his teeth were fine in college, so I'm going with smoker.

That said, he's got nothing to prove. He was a stud. A lot of us were. It doesn't last forever. Hopefully he found happiness in his post-running life.