Jackie Quan: correr para sentirse vivo y fuerte

Running serves many purposes for Jackie Quan: it’s part of a fitness regimen that also includes tennis, biking, volleyball, and pickleball; it’s a way to fundraise for causes that matter to her; and it strengthens the bonds with her two teenage sons, who run with her.

But Jackie, 52, also runs for the simplest and most obvious of reasons: to move forward.

In 2018, Jackie’s sister died after battling cancer, and Jackie had a hysterectomy. She’d been active most of her life—and even ran a marathon at age 23—and running helped her cope with grief and regain strength.

“I didn’t consider myself a runner, and I didn’t love running, but it was a way to cope with pain and stress and move forward,” she said. “It was there to preserve my mental health.”

Her first NYRR race was the Midnight Run on January 1, 2020. As COVID-19 restrictions lifted, she raced regularly, including the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon.

Jackie has fundraised for a variety of causes, including Fred’s Team, several breast cancer charities, and NYRR Team for Kids. “For me, running is for fundraising and helping others,” said Jackie, who's now run eight marathons.

In 2022 her older son, Jefferson, 18, began racing with her. They’ve completed eight NYRR races together and will run this year’s RBC Brooklyn Half and TCS New York City Marathon. Her younger son, Austin, 15, has also started running.

“My sons and I run together—that is important for us. We are slowpokes, and that is okay—I want to teach them that we can keep moving forward, together.”

At the 2023 RBC Brooklyn Half, Jefferson cramped and thought he wasn't going to finish. “I stayed with him, like he stays with me when I slow down. He saw that in spite of pain, the body can recover, that it’s resilient.” They crossed the finish line together.

Jackie was born in Vietnam and immigrated to New York City as a child with her family. “As an immigrant, people and organizations help you and you see it’s okay to get help from others when you need it,” she said. “It’s like that in running too—you can give someone a banana, or if you see them fall you can lift them up.”

Jackie wishes more people like her would take up running, and she hopes she can be a role model.

“I wasn’t trained as a young woman to be physically and mentally strong. Society didn’t want that for me. Now, I don’t care what society wants I run to show that people who look like me can run, even though we may not look like the stereotypical runner.”

Photos by MarathonFoto.