Biography
Stefani Jackenthal runs Jackenthal Custom Coaching, an endurance and general athletic training program based on the theory that every athlete has unique needs and desires. Jackenthal surgically crafts training schedules built on an athlete’s history, short term and long term goals and lifestyle; weaving them together with performance-enhancing nutrition. Her clients have thrived; winning races, gaining speed, strength, muscle structure and confidence.
As an All-American triathlete, adventure racer and former pro bicycle racer, Jackenthal’s personal experience with top-flight coaches and competition has served her well. Her decade as a fitness-adventure journalist allows her access to leading fitness experts, keeping her in touch with cutting-edge athletic advancements that she melds into custom coaching programs and applies to her own training.
Jackenthal, a sub-three hour marathoner, won the 2006 Big Sur Trail Marathon and the 2005 Augrabies Kalahair Extreme Marathon, a 6-day, 150-mile running race across the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. In January 2006, she finished 2nd in The Coastal Challenge, 150-mile, 7-day running race along the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica - she also won the inaugural 2001 NYC-Triathlon and 2001 & 2002 Survival of the Shawangunks. Stefani and her team won the coed division of 2003 Team RAAM – Race Across America, a 2,922-mile bike race from San Diego, CA to Atlantic City, NJ. In 2000, she qualified at the Lake Placid Ironman for a slot in Kona and finished the grueling Hawaii Ironman that October. Jackenthal has raced and reported from around the world – Nepal, Borneo, China, Tibet, Ecuador and more. While racing the Raid Gauloises adventure race in Ecuador, she summited El Cotapaxi (19,600-ft) and this fall 2004, will summit Lhapki Ri (23,000 ft) in Tibet. The ascent is part of a project called Climbing Blind. She is guiding a 17-year old blind Tibetan teenager up to the peak of Lhapk Ri and will do a first-person report on the experience for “Weekend Edition Saturday,” airing on NPR.
Stefani reports for print, radio, and TV. Her stories have been featured worldwide in Women's Health, Runner's World, Shape, Fitness, and Prevention magazine, among others. She lives in New York City.