Former Olympian continues to chase fitness goals

Janis Klecker’s Olympic moment is decades behind her, but the memories of her marathon run in Barcelona in 1992 still burn bright. And though she no longer runs competitively, the 64-year-old retired dentist, a trailblazer for women’s running in the Twin Cities, stays fit and active. 

As Minnesotans cheer on their home state Olympians competing in Paris, Klecker, who lives in Minnetonka, reflected on her own Olympic memories and the role fitness still plays in her life. 

“Over time, I realized that as we get older, we need to get more creative in how we stay fit,” she said. In due course, Klecker traded her running shoes for barbells in the Alpha Olympic-lifting class at Life Time Athletic in Eden Prairie. 

The road to Barcelona Olympics

Klecker was a dental school student and had run her first marathon at 19 just a few years earlier when she competed in the first women’s Olympic team trial marathon in 1984.

“It was a goal for a lot of women to qualify for the Olympic trials in 1984,” she said. “And that year, Joan Benoit won the first Olympic women’s marathon, which really spurred a lot of women to want to run. It was really the beginning of a movement in women’s running.” 

“To be a part of this historic group was very special,” she recalled, though she did not make the Olympic team that year. “It was such a unique event. We still have reunions, even 35, 40 years later.”

She qualified for the trials again in 1988, but injuries kept her from competing. 

By 1992, Klecker had graduated from dental school, allowing her more dedicated training. “The pieces really started to pull together, and my times were improving in shorter races,” she said. “That was the year I really felt … I could be on the Olympic team.”

She placed first in the 1992 Olympic trials in Houston with a time of 2:30:12, despite a fall mid-race.

On race day at the Olympics in Barcelona that August, conditions were not favorable, said Klecker, and eight of the 47 competitors dropped out. Yet oppressive heat, large crowds, an unaccustomed evening start time and pollution that made running with her asthma difficult did not deter Klecker.

“I was not going to drop out. I didn’t care if I had to crawl to the finish line; I was not going to drop out,” she said. “Standing on that starting line, we all believed we could be the gold medalist.”

Klecker finished 21st.

“I was not happy with my race, but I crossed the finish line,” she said. “I was at the Olympics, and I made it through healthy.”

Of her disappointment, she said, “You get over it pretty quickly, and then decide what you’re going to do next.” 

What Klecker did next was to win the Twin Cities Marathon that October and then compete in the Tokyo Marathon. “Then I came home and decided I wanted to have children,” she said. “And I had six kids in seven years.”

Klecker continued running and having children. She qualified for the Olympic trials in 1996 after three kids, and in 2000 after five kids. “I didn’t make the team,” she said. “And I didn’t really want to. I was running to stay fit.” 

Klecker has run more than 50 marathons. She’s won the Twin Cities Marathon twice, as well as numerous others. Though she is more focused these days on strength and flexibility, she still runs occasionally.

“I can run without pain,  and I still have all of my own joints,” she said. “I can go on a five-mile run, maybe not as fast, but I can do it without any pain. And I think having run for over 40 years, that’s a victory right there.”

Though disappointed in her results at the time, Klecker has grown to cherish her Olympic experience.

“At the time, it did not mean that much to me, just another race,” she said. “But now that I’m not running competitively anymore, to still have the title of Olympian, it does change your life. It connects you to people and gives integrity and authority to what you do.” 

One of Klecker’s most meaningful memories of the Olympics was the opening ceremony. She was especially happy that she got to share that experience with her parents, two close friends and her husband. 

“Walking into the stadium and just seeing the magnitude was very impressional to me,” she said. “That was the year they shot a flaming arrow to light the Olympic torch and I was right by the guy when he was pulling the arrow. And I thought, ‘This is really cool. This is history in the making.’ It was a beautiful sight.” 

Changing focus

With her dental practice and six active children – five of whom ran in college and one who played football – staying healthy andfit remained a priority. 

In her 50s, Klecker focused a lot on flexibility and yoga, “and now strength in my 60s,” she said. “As we age, we lose our posture, our strength, we are more prone to osteoporosis, so all of the things about strength training address that.”

Klecker credits Lindsay Ogden, LifeTime trainer and Alpha class instructor, with providing instruction and motivation.

“I joke that I can run in a straight line for quite a while, but give me a barbell, and I’m completely clueless. So it’s good to learn something new,” said Klecker.

Ogden agrees that beginning strength training can be intimidating at first. “It’s normally not the body, but the brain holding you back,” she said. For example, Klecker did not initially see box jumps as something she could do. With Ogden’s help, she started with a couple of modifications.

“I can now do box jumps from the floor, though sometimes it depends on the day,” Klecker said. “But it is something I never thought I could do.”

Though accustomed to pushing herself, Klecker is learning to “listen to my body. I have to be willing to modify because I want to be able to keep doing it,” she said. “Whether I lift 15 or 20 pounds doesn’t make that big of a difference. That’s the thing I’m learning with my body, is being honest with how it feels.”

Future looks bright

Klecker plans to be active through the decades. “Fitness is very much in the fabric of my life, and now has become very much in the fabric of our family,” she said. Her husband, Barney, also a runner, continues to exercise regularly, even with “two shiny hips,” said Klecker. 

Their son Joe is a professional runner who followed in his mother’s footsteps when he competed in the 10,000-meter event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, held in 2021 due to the pandemic. One daughter is currently training for a 50-mile race, and another for the Chicago Marathon.

“Faith, family, fitness, friends – that’s the foundation for me, and everything really just springs from that,” said Klecker.

The newest generation of Kleckers also propels her. “I want my body to stay fit and functional for as long as possible and be able to still whisk up my grandchildren and take them places,” she said.

For others who want to remain or become active as they age, Klecker is reminded of her mother, who started it all when she ran her first marathon at 43 and went on to run more than 40.

“It is really never too late to start and just to do something,” she said. “Be curious and creative about how you stay fit.”