Jessie Yang

Jessie grew up in China as a competitive age-group swimmer until the age of 16. She didn’t take up running until she was 33, after moving to the United States, having two children, and undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery on one of her knees a year prior. She began running to stay in shape and to prepare for her first triathlon in August 2017.

In 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2024, she participated in the Howard County Striders’ Next Step Half/Full Marathon training program. She ran her first marathon at the California International Marathon on December 8, 2019, finishing in 3:19:09—fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon. She ran Boston on October 11, 2021, and improved her time to 3:14:33.

With the support of the Next Step training, she also improved her times at other distances. She completed the 2021 Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run in 1:08:14 and the 2024 Shamrock 5K in 19:54. She is also a frequent qualifier for the USA Triathlon Olympic Distance National Championships. 

Jessie joined the Howard County Striders Racing Team in 2022.  She hopes to continue competing in distances from 5K to the marathon, achieving more personal records along the way and inspiring more friends and family to start running..