Being a Division I athlete is hard, and raising a child at the same time is even harder.
This is the life of BYU track athlete Krystie Solomon Jensen.
Solomon Jenson has been running track at BYU since fall of 2021. She specializes in the 800 meters with a personal best time of 2:04 which she ran at the 2024 Big 12 outdoor championships and placed 8th overall.
As she was getting ready for the 2025 track season, she was met with an unexpected surprise. She would be having a baby girl in September.
Although her 2025 track season was put on hold as she prepared to bring a daughter into the world, this didn’t stop Solomon Jensen from continuing to train as long as she could. She continued workouts with her teammates, and when those became too difficult, she continued to go for a run every day.
“Running at this level is extremely physically demanding and you’re putting your body through so much,” Solomon Jensen said when asked how running has prepared her for motherhood. “Which is the same with pregnancy.
“You have to be so incredibly tough and have a strong mindset to do this sport at this level,” Solomon Jensen added. “It prepares you for how mentally demanding it is to be a mother. Both in running and in motherhood, things don’t always go the way you imagine and running has prepared that kind of mindset for motherhood. It also teaches you patience, which is so important as a mother.”
Exactly two weeks after giving birth, Solomon Jensen was back to running, and not only running, but also being a full time student.
“It was tough,” Solomon Jensen said. “After giving birth, it just took my body time to readjust to a normal body weight and let my body remember what it was like before.”
When asked how she has been balancing motherhood, running, and school, she summarized it into one word. Priorities.
“Of course motherhood comes first, but loving to run helps because it's easy to make time for the things you love,” Solomon Jensen said.
Solomon Jensen is now preparing to compete during the 2026 track season.
“This whole experience has given me the motivation and clarity that this is what I want to do,” Solomon Jensen said. “Sitting on the sidelines and watching my people (teammates) do this, made me realize how much I miss it!”