Meet STAMINAPRO Ambassador Jacob Thomson! Jacob is a professional distance runner training for the 2022 US Marathon Championships. When Jacob realized that he only had a few years left to achieve his goal, he packed up his life in Boston and moved to Flagstaff, Arizona. He is currently running up to 130 miles a week in hopes of qualifying for the Olympic Trials! Although currently located in Arizona, he is originally from Louisville, Kentucky and is passionate about giving back to the youth of his hometown community. Jacob founded Bluegrass Running Camp in 2021 as a youth program in Louisville where he has helped train hundreds of adolescents! On top of training for his marathon and running his camp, Jacob also enjoys coaching runners all across the world.
“I think people can put a lot of planning or thought into running or try to go out and hit a home run when they first start. All you need to do is to get out of the door and go jog for 20 or 30 minutes, if you've never ran. It's not about what you do today, it’s about what you consistently do every day for six months to a year from now. It’s about how much time and energy you continue to invest over time. Consistency is the key.”
What got you into running?
"I started running at a very young age and started competing when I was in 4th grade. I really didn’t like it very much until I got to high school. I started to have some success with it and truly dedicated myself to the sport. It’s been a lifelong journey since then.
Growing up, I played probably just about everything. I always thought I wanted to be a baseball player and so I joined the high school baseball team. I could either win the state championship running or play JV shortstop, so it became a pretty easy decision once I got to that level."
Tell us a bit more about your coaching.
“We've been coaching for about two and a half years. We coach people in 27 different states and 3 countries. It’s mostly virtual but in Kentucky, we have a youth club team with students from high school and middle school that do meet in-person for practices — it's really cool to see the community side of that.
When COVID happened, schools were locked down; students couldn't practice, they didn't have access to their coaches or their facilities. At the time, I was living in Boston and training there when a kid from my hometown that I've never met, reached out to me and asked for some workouts he could do. I started talking to him regularly and then, after about a month of that, he asked me if I would coach him! That's when I recognized that I really enjoyed coaching. So probably two months after that I started putting the word out that I would start coaching people. It gained traction way faster than I thought it would so I brought on Thomas Cave as another coach. It's been great!”
What’s the story behind Bluegrass Running Camp?
“Bluegrass Running Camp started in the summer of 2021. A high school coach from back in Kentucky had a good athlete he needed training advice for. During our conversation he said, ‘Man, this is a lot of great information. You should start a camp and share this with everybody.’
Once we put that idea out there, I got with Thomas and the high school coach and the three of us started the camp! In the the first year of camp, we had 130 campers and it went really well. Almost like a week after that camp we were getting emails from parents like ‘Hey, what are the dates for next year?’ It is really important to me to give back to the Kentucky community that I came from.
This past summer, we were lucky to have STAMINAPRO come on as one of our camp sponsors. We had 250 campers come in and we were able to provide patches to every runner. It was an amazing experience for them as we were able to bring in college coaches, guest speakers, professional runners, sports dietitians, chiropractors, and psychologists.
Typically, if you want to go to a high school running camp in Kentucky, you have to travel far and pay double the price. Therefore, we wanted to create an experience that was convenient and affordable for the kids. That’s been our whole mission with this camp.”
Your goal is to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Trials. How is the training going so far?
“I'm currently preparing for the California International Marathon in December, which is the US Marathon Championships this year. It’s what I’m 100% dedicated to right now. For marathon training, I’m running about 115-130 miles a week. So I'm running a lot. The altitude here in Flagstaff is helping with my training because when you go down to sea level you produce more red blood cells and it's way easier to run. I do threshold workouts and lots of stacking mileage as high as I can while staying healthy, which is something STAMINAPRO has played a big part in. After that race, as a long term goal, I’ll start mapping out the next year of training for the 2024 Olympic Trials.“
How did you discover STAMINAPRO?
“I discovered STAMINAPRO while I was with Molly Seidel on a run here in Flagstaff. I had a really bad hip flexor problem and was complaining about how bad it hurt. She said ‘I have these patches and they work really well to reduce inflammation.’ I tried them out and the difference was immense! Right now, I have one on my back as it’s been giving me issues but I like to use them a lot on my glutes, hip flexors, achilles, and calves.
I also use the Immune Boost Patches. I usually get sick when I travel so I started using them this summer. I was basically on the road for 2 1/2 months straight, kind of living out of a suitcase from city to city. They’re great! I didn't get sick at all so I continue to wear them as a preventative measure.”
Follow Jacob's Journey to the 2024 Olympic Trials
Jacob Thomson is currently filming a docuseries highlighting his journey to the 2022 US Marathon Championships. Follow his training journey through each episode as you get to know him and how he is pushing himself along the way!
Follow Jacob, Thomson Training, and Blue Grass Running on Instagram!
