Jenn Cook

My name is Jennifer Cook, but I go by Jenn and I grew up in Strongsville, Ohio. I have two amazing kids, a crazy Aussie named Bella and a Japanese kitty named Maple; yes she is from Japan!  I grew up playing soccer and ran for my high school Cross country and track teams.  I even participated in the state Cross country meet with my team, in 1998, we placed 5th.  I was always a tomboy and just loved playing any sports outside and because of this I joined the Marine Corps when I was 17! 

Being in the military you must stay somewhat fit, and I’ve always prided myself by my fitness level.  I’ve love to challenge myself in many different types of fitness.  I’ve ran numerous road races from 5ks, to half marathons and also finished the Disney marathon.  I’ve competed in numerous CrossFit competitions, even the Asia Championship in Hong Kong in 2017! 

In 2016, I competed in San Diego to be the High Intensity Tactical Training female athlete of the year for the Marine Corps and placed 5th while competing against women more than 10 years younger than me!  Since I retired in Marine Corps in 2021 after 20.5 years of service, I still challenge myself with CrossFit competitions and Spartan races.  This year, I ran 9 Spartan races, participated in 2 Trifecta weekends - which are comprised of 3 races in one weekend, ranging from 3 miles to 13.1 - and topped it off with the Spartan Ultra 50k race in Montana!  It was a big physical and mental  challenge taking me 11 hours and 56 minutes, with over 34 miles, 66 obstacles, 8500 feet of elevation gain and rain in 40 degrees the whole time!

I started CrossFit in 2014 because the Marine Corps changed the female fitness test from the flexed arm hang to dead hang pull-ups which I was never able to do.  A friend told me I should try it and I haven’t looked back since.  I had never lifted much before because I was a distance runner and picked it up pretty quickly realizing my natural strength that I had.  I started to really love lifting.    

I love CrossFit because it teaches you a lot about yourself and really builds a tough mental fitness to help you through life’s ups and downs.  I also love how it can be scaled to any fitness level to help anyone become a healthier version of themselves.  I got my L1 CrossFit certification in April of 2021.

In the Marine Corps, I was an Instructor of Water Survival, Level 1 High Intensity Tactical trainer, Physical Training Instructor and Martial Arts Instructor.  I also have a bachelor’s degree in Sports and Health Science through American Military University.  A few fun facts are that I was a Drill Instructor in the Marine Corps for 3.5 years.  I lived in Okinawa Japan for 3 years with my kids from 2015-2018 and I love baking fancy cakes for my kids to match their birthday themes.