Valentine
Jolly

Running athlete

Bio

A former competitive swimmer, she discovered running in 2018, just for fun. In 2019, she won a contest on Instagram… and unexpectedly found herself registered for her first marathon, without even knowing which one. With only three weeks to prepare, she completed the race in 4:52. That day, she fell in love with the sport.

One year later, she ran a 3:14 marathon. After moving to Montréal, she joined the Vainqueurs Plus track club and began training seriously with a coach. That’s when she learned about the World Marathon Majors — Berlin, London, Chicago, Boston, Tokyo, and New York — and set herself a new goal: earn the coveted Six Star Finisher medal.

Working night shifts as a nurse made it tough to stay injury-free, but she kept pushing. After struggling with recurring pain, she started seeing Thannina at NXTG Physio, who helped her recover and get back to running strong.

In 2024, she qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand. Then in March 2025, she traveled to Kenya to train at the iconic Run’IX Athletic Center in Iten with elite marathoner Maxime Lopes.

Career Highlights

– Former competitive swimmer

– First marathon in 2019 (4:52), followed by a 3:14 just one year later

– Sub-3 marathon in Chicago

– Injury recovery with Thannina at NXTG Physio

– Qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship

– Training camp in Iten, Kenya with RunWise

Upcoming Goals

She’s completed 4 of the 6 World Marathon Majors and plans to finish Tokyo in 2027 and New York later that fall to earn the Six Star Medal. She’s currently focusing on speed over shorter distances (5K and 10K), aiming to beat her personal best and get closer to 2:55 — maybe even 2:50 — in the marathon.