Tomorrow night, as the Athletics Department officially launches Homecoming festivities with its Annual Awards Ceremony, Tufts alum and three-time USA national champion runner Jennifer Toomey (LA '94) will find herself the recipient, not of a gold medal or another national title, but instead the Tufts University 2008 Distinguished Achievement Award.
Following in the footsteps of fellow New England sports greats such as New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach and Olympic medalists Joan Benoit-Samuelson and Nancy Kerrigan, Toomey was humbled and honored to learn that she will be receiving the highly prestigious award in a ceremony to be held in Cohen Auditorium.
"It's really amazing," Toomey said. "I was stunned when [Tufts Athletic Director] Bill [Gehling] asked me if I would accept the award. I was really just shocked.
In 2004, Toomey became the first U.S. athlete in history to win the national championship in both the 800- and 1500-meter events in the same year. One year later, she posted her third national championship with another top finish in the 1500-meter race. She was also a member of three world championship teams, with a fourth-place showing in the 800-meter run at the 2004 World Indoor Championships.
"It sounds slightly odd to say, but I've never really felt like my accomplishments were that important," Toomey said. "Probably because running is more of a personal thing, but I really couldn't believe it. When I look at [past award recipients], I see something so great; I have a lot of respect for them. I feel very fortunate to have been named the recipient for this year's Distinguished Achievement Award."
Both local alumni and award committee members submitted nominations for the award to Gehling. After discussing the DAA finalists with his fellow committee members, Gehling made the final selection.
He noted that Toomey was most deserving of this year's award due to her significant accomplishments on the track, her close Tufts connection and her unique story.
"Obviously she's won multiple national championships and she's a Tufts alum, but the great part about her story is that she didn't really start running until her mid 20s," Gehling said. "The last time she ran track was ninth grade in high school. Within five or six years, she had become a national champion."
But there aren't too many national champions in any line of competition who begin their illustrious careers on a wager — which is exactly how Toomey began hers.
"One of my co-workers at my day job bet me $100 to run the Boston Marathon," Toomey said. "After some convincing, I decided I would. So I ran as a bandit with all the crazy people in the back who weren't registered to run, but I actually finished the race."
Toomey didn't start her competitive running career until she was 25 years old, well after her departure from the Hill. After competing cross country as a freshman in high school, Toomey turned to diving for the remainder of her academic career. But after running the marathon, the rest was history.
Toomey attributes much of her success to her relationship with renowned running coach Tom McDermott.
"I found a really famous teacher in Coach McDermott," Toomey said. "Within a year he helped me get to the point where I was able to qualify for the Olympic trials. Although I was nowhere near being the most talented in the country, I still had enough skill and focus that I was able to leave my day job and go for it."
It wasn't an easy road to the top for Toomey, and she will be the first to say that. Throughout her whole career she has dealt with more experienced runners, forcing her to commit that much more attention and determination to the sport.
"You have to be so focused on the task at hand; you have to eat, sleep and breathe running," Toomey said. "Everything is so intense: You wake up, you go for a run, you take a nap and you go right back at it. You need the mentality that you can do anything. The reality is that you're competing against people who are as talented, if not more talented, than you."
After all of her success, Toomey has finally returned to working a day job. And despite returning to normal life, Toomey still finds a similar inspiration in everyday life.
"When I've helped coach younger athletes, I get the chance to see some really cool moments moments when the young runners finish way above what you would think is possible," she said. "When you see those special moments, that's inspiration to me. You can find those little moments in anyone in your life, and those are the types of things that are really few and far between. When you find those, you find the greatness in everyone."
