Athletics Nova Scotia - Our Story: Jane Hergett

Story #2 is Jane Hergett, who has been working in the hospital as a nurse throughout Covid, to making her second Canada Games team this year. 

ANS: Congratulations on being named to your second Canada Games team, Jane! A lot has changed since your first Canada Games in 2017. What are you looking forward to for this Canada Games?

Jane: Thanks! This Canada Games I’m most looking forward to hanging out with my Team NS teammates and getting the opportunity to compete against some amazing athletes. I haven’t had the opportunity to travel with a team or to compete at a national competition since before Covid so I’m super excited!

ANS: What impact did the Canada Games have for you as an athlete in 2017 and afterwards as you continued on to have a successful varsity career with the St.FX X-Women?

Jane: Canada Games 2017 gave me my first opportunity to travel across the country for a meet as well as my first chance competing at a national competition. That experience definitely helped give me an introduction to travelling for meets like USports at university.

ANS: What has been your most memorable moment/moments in the sport?

Jane: My most memorable moment in track thus far was probably running a “breakthrough” race in second year - a 2:52 1000m at a random meet in Halifax. For a number of reasons I struggled to run well in my first year and every race felt extra hard - so to finally run a time I knew I had in me and for it to feel fairly comfortable was an awesome feeling.

ANS: As we all know, the spring of 2020 brought sport and everything else to a halt with the pandemic. You’re a nurse, so you’ve been on the frontlines of the pandemic in the hospital during the past year. With the Canada Games supposed to take place in 2021, and eventually getting postponed to 2022, what did your training look like (and still does) while balancing shift work in the hospital, and how did you keep to the motivation with a postponed Canada Games?

Jane: I graduated in 2021 during the pandemic after having no fourth year season and immediately started working full time as a nurse doing 12 hour shifts. Last summer I managed to keep up a fairly normal training schedule, but come Fall I started getting burned out so I was doing very minimal running and almost no workouts. I started trying to do workouts more regularly this spring and ended up connecting with my highschool track coach. With his help I’ve been able to find a rhythm that works with my work schedule. I’m doing 2 workouts a week, and 1-2 full rest days per week to allow my body to recover properly from my shifts. Seeing the progress we’ve been able to make with training that’s actually manageable long-term with my work schedule has re-motivated me to keep running.

ANS: Are there any words of advice you would give to the next generation of athletes that may be looking to be in your shoes on the Canada Games team next time around in 2025?

Jane: My words of advice to the next generation of athletes is to find balance. It can’t be all about running all the time. Doing other stuff keeps you happy and grounded which in turn helps you run faster!