Jenny Hoffman

About

Jenny Hoffman is a Harvard University physics professor and elite ultrarunner who has combined a career studying quantum materials with world-class performances at the extreme end of endurance running. Born in 1978, she rowed on Harvard's lightweight crew as an undergraduate before earning her physics degree in 1999 and a PhD from UC Berkeley in 2003; she returned to Harvard as a professor in 2005 and has since received the Presidential Early Career Award and a Sloan Research Fellowship for her work imaging quantum materials. She transitioned from marathons to ultramarathons and won the USATF 24-Hour National Championship three years running, in 2014, 2015, and 2016, then earned a team gold medal at the 2017 IAU 24-Hour World Championships in Belfast. In November 2023, at age 45, she ran across the United States from San Francisco City Hall to New York City Hall — roughly 3,032 miles — in 47 days, 12 hours, and 35 minutes, smashing the previous women's transcontinental fastest-known-time of 54 days set by Sandra Villines in 2017. In 2024 she pushed her own 24-hour personal best to 147.77 miles.

Notable Wins

• — USATF 24-Hour National Champion 2014
• — 2015
• — 2016; IAU 24-Hour World Championships 2017 (team gold); women's transcontinental FKT 2023 (47d 12h 35m
• — San Francisco to New York)

Race History