By Christina M. Abt

Special to the US&J;

It’s not too surprising that Lockport native Jessica Hill returned home from the Empire State Games with a Silver Medal dangling around her neck. After all, Hill has been involved in competitive athletics for most of her 31 years.

She began as a young teen, competing on the Medina High School cross country, track and volleyball teams. She then switched gears during college, training in karate with Eric Hill, owner of Lockport’s Seishin Kan Karate School. As Hill’s karate skills advanced so, too, did the personal connection between trainer and student, and in 2000, the couple married. However, as Hill recalls, that same year brought about a significant change in her athletic life.

“I broke my arm during a karate match,” Hill said. “It was a pretty bad break and it was very painful. So while I healed, I gave a lot of thought to whether I wanted to continue competing. Finally, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk of possibly getting hurt again, and all that it entails when you have to take time off from work and from life.”

Hill’s decision meant she spent the next two years doing the one thing she most dislikes … not competing. “I got my degree as a physical therapist assistant and began working at Buffalo Spine and Sports. And while my career there was definitely fulfilling, I really missed being involved in sports.”

So in an athletic about-face, after work each day Hill began running again. She started out simply, training with the aid of a somewhat unusual “coach.”

“I went on the Internet and read about running techniques and ways to train. Then I started looking online for local races that seemed interesting.”

Her competitive events of interest quickly became 5K runs. Yet it wasn’t long before such short jaunts bored her and she realized she was ready to run farther and harder. 

“I decided that I wanted to challenge myself to improve,” Hill said. “So I entered the Buffalo Half Marathon, which I ended up completing in just under two hours.” 

When asked if at any point in the 13-mile race she thought she might not finish, Hill answers directly. “There were a couple of points when I didn’t know if I could keep going; specifically miles 9, 10 and 11. They had a lot of hills and were really tough. But I was determined to push through and finish. No way was I going to stop.”

Accomplishing the half marathon task meant only one thing — moving on to her next goal.  

“I’m always looking for opportunities to better myself and running allows me to do that,” Hill said. “I can strive to compete not only against better runners, but to compete against my self — my own times — and work on improving my own personal best.” And that’s where the Empire State Game became part of Hill’s story.

A friend told the dedicated runner about the New York State amateur competition. She discovered online that the games offered a 10K Road Race with a Masters Division, for people 30 and older. From the start, though, she decided to decline her age group in search of tougher competition, choosing instead to register in the open division, ages 17 and up.”

So it was on that hot and humid July 27, Hill and her mother set out for Binghamton, site of the 2008 Empire Games. The seasoned athlete espouses that she harbored little doubt about her ability.

“I felt that since I did well in the half marathon, I could do fairly well in the 10K,” Hill said.

And true to her instinct, when Hill crossed the finish line at 49 minutes 48 seconds, she owned the second best time for all women runners 17 years of age and older.

Hill acknowledges during the race she had an idea of her place in the pack, but she concentrated on her own pacing as she pushed through some tough terrain and a slight foot injury. 

“When I crossed the finish line I immediately walked off to cool down and get some water. Finally when I went over to the finish board, I was very surprised and excited to see the results, that I actually did achieve my goal of winning a medal.”

Since achieving this silver medal milestone, Hill is determined to once again kick it up a notch. She is training for a half marathon in Philadelphia by running four days a week on what she calls a “short run” of three miles, and varying the other days with a mid-distance run of 6 miles and a long run of nine miles. It is a pace that she states will keep her on track for her next athletic goal.

“My new plan is to run a full marathon,” Hill said. “I will probably run one in the next year.”