Iowa Air Guard member serves as coach mentor for hometown track team

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Video by Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot

185th Air Refueling Wing, Iowa Air National Guard

March 28, 2023 | 4:24

B-roll video shows Air National Guard member, Lt. Col. Jennifer Carlson running and coaching her high school track team in Lawton, Iowa.

Carlson works full time as the 185th Air Refueling Wing Deputy Support Group Commander at the Iowa Air National Guard unit in Sioux City, Iowa.
She is an avid runner who says she started running in high school and never stopped.

Carlson has taken her enthusiasm for running beyond the gravel roads of rural Lawton, Iowa where she lives. Carlson recently qualified for the 2023 U.S. Triathlon Nationals after achieving a qualifying time in her age group for the event.

She said she often runs distant races around the nation with her husband Adam who is also a member of the Air National Guard. Carlson said she and her husband plan meetings at different events around the nation.

Carlson said she has been enjoying volunteering this spring as the long-distance track coach with the Lawton-Bronson high school track team. She said her goal is to get the kids interested in fitness and get them moving.

When she is not coaching students, Carlson has also put together a neighborhood walking club in Lawton where the group meets three mornings each week to walk together.