2013 St. George Presenters / Fitness Professionals

Janae Jacobs

 Janae has become well known in the running industry the last few years. She is the author of the extremely well read blog, The Hungry Runner Girl.  This blog has exploded in popularity over the last few years since her first post in 2010. She started running when she was 12 years old with her older sister and instantly fell in love with the sport.  ”I didn’t start racing until 2010 when I ran my first marathon, I loved it!” She says. She’s a Utah girl, but due to her husbands schooling she currently lives in California which means YEAR ROUND RUNNING! She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Health Education and taught high school until she became a mother.  Janae had a baby this past August and ran a half marathon in 1:31 just 7 weeks after having her daughter. She is passionate about her family, traveling, food and running.  She has a marathon personal record of 3:04 and is currently training for a sub 3 marathon.   Janae adds “I absolutely love any food that contains high amounts of sugar, baking, biking, being as social as possible and traveling (preferably for races).”  The She Runs team is excited for her to bring her enthusiasm and knowledge she has obtained through running.

John Hatch

Dr. Hatch is a functional neurology and applied kinesiology specialist, who works with people that suffer from a wide range of infirmities, including anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, Parkinson’s, tics, tremors, musculoskeletal pain, such as, chronic ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, and IT band.  He obtained his doctorate fromLifeWestChiropracticCollege.  His undergraduate studies were in Exercise Science, and received a degree from BrighamYoungUniversity.  As a certified personal trainer for four years, he gained special interest in helping others to overcome muscle imbalance, poor posture, bad balance, and chronic pain and discomfort.

Dr. Hatch seeks opportunities to help others achieve an optimal physical experience in life through brain and body balance.  He is currently practicing in Midway Utah at the Nielsen clinic.

Heather Jenson

Heather has always been passionate about fitness and a healthy lifestyle. A Utah girl, Heather grew up in Salt Lake City and was a member of the Brighton High School “Paddling” Bengals Swimming Dynasty and is a State champion freestyler and lettered in swimming. The grueling 2 a day practices taught Heather to not only endure exercise but to love it! Heather has always believed in being well rounded with fitness and loves to try new things. Heather knew that she wanted to teach others to enjoy fitness and began teaching and personal training about 10 years ago. She became an A.F.A.A. certified Instructor. She is also certified in Turbo Kick, Yoga and Pilates, Boot camp, Body Pump, H.I.I.T., Hip Hop and Zumba to name a few. Heather set high goals for herself after having her first baby in 2007 and set her sites on Running a marathon and competing in Triathlons to get back her fitness and shed the baby weight! She has since completed 5 full marathons (one of which she ran when her 2nd baby was 4 months old!) and many other running races and is also proud to be an Ironman 70.3 athlete as well. She received her AA from Dixie State College and has taught thousands of classes in the St. George Area and also helped train and work with contestants from The Biggest Loser while living in Southern Utah. She has recently enjoyed becoming a pacer for half and full marathons. Heather has been happily married to her High School Sweetheart for 10 years and they are expecting baby #3 this July. She believes in having a Fit Pregnancy and has continued to teach classes only a few days before delivering babies. Heather is extremely passionate about running and knows from experience that Yoga and Pilates will help runners achieve better training when adding these 2 disciplines to their weekly work load. You won’t want to miss her Power Yoga for Runners and Pilates classes this year!

Dr. K.C. Oliver

“Dr. Kenneth (K.C.) Oliver is one of the two co-founders of The Neuro Clinc here in Lehi, UT. Growing up in the Great Northwest, Dr. Oliver left the rain of Sammamish, WA in 2001 to study exercise science at Brigham Young University. He took a break from studies from 2002-2004 to live and serve a full time mission for his church in Concepcion, Chile. He credits that time of service as one of the most influential experiences of his life. He resumed his studies at BYU in 2004, graduated in 2007 with a Bachelors degree in Exercise Science. He had every intention to attend Chiropractic College and has embraced Chiropractic care because of remarkable results he received from the profession growing up. After three rewarding years, Dr. Oliver graduated Cum Laude from Life Chiropractic College West in Hayward, CA. Both during and after his time at Life West Dr. Oliver attended post-graduate courses at the Carrick Institute of Neurology and is eligible to sit for the national board exam this upcoming year to become a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Neurology Board, making him only 1 of 2 certified Chiropractic Neurologists in the state of Utah. Since graduating from Life West Chiropractic College, Dr. Oliver has worked as an associate and independent contractor at Neurolink Chiropractic in San Mateo, CA with great success. With this great opportunity to work and serve at the Alpine Clinic in Lehi, UT, Dr. Oliver is now ready to devote all his time and attention to the betterment of the great people throughout the state of Utah.
Upon graduating from Chiropractic College Dr. Oliver was awarded the “Who’s who among students in American Universities and Colleges” for his outstanding curricular and extracurricular involvement at Life West. He couldn’t have done any of it without the support of his wife and his little boy Hank.

Dr. Oliver has devoted his life to helping each patient achieve their individual goals, set expressly at achieving maximum health and wellness. He stakes his reputation on the fact that he can act as an instrument in improving each patient’s activities of daily living and eventually get each patient back to what they “used to be able to do”.

David Johns

 Back by popular demand! David will be joining us again in St. George! Growing up as the “heavy kid” until he was 17yrs old, David redirected his life by losing over 100lbs and going on to win Mr. Teen Utah in 2003. His passion for fitness has led him to teach others how to reach their goals. Working as a Nutrition/Exercise Consultant for the past 8years, David educates clients on the EXACT balance of nutrition and exercise to improve athletic performance, reduce bodyfat, increase lean body mass, and maximize health. We have seen David’s magic at work and he is phenomenal!  After speaking at couple retreats last year, majority rules and everyone wanted David to return and educate on the subject of nutrition and set the record straight on the best times to eat which foods, proper balance of meals, and how to maximize your metabolism to get the body YOU WANT!

Amy Vellinga

At the age of 12, Amy decided that her life long goal was to become an fitness instructor. After doing the “Buns of Steel” video in P.E. class she started making up routines in 8th grade. That goal consumed her. At 18 years old, she accomplished it, and realized that she needed to become a bigger thinker. Her passion for fitness has never stopped. Over the last 15 years Amy has taught and trained thousands of people (mainly women) and continues to do so everyday. She studied Exercise Science, with a focus on exercise programming and nutrition. She’s certified in multiple group fitness formats including, but not limited to, Yoga, Turbo Kickboxing, Pilates, Weight Training, Less Mills Body Combat, Step, Zumba, and Cycling. She also holds multiple personal training and nutrition certifications.  You may think she has a familiar face due to her frequent television appearances.  She’s currently featured daily in multiple sessions of “Total Body Workout” on television.  She loves seeing people have a positive change in their life and being able to be a part of it. She has developed multiple fitness and wellness programs and has been able to help many people achieve their fitness goals. Amy is also the creator/owner of the  ”She Runs / Run Like a Girl” race series. In the past she has stepped aside letting “other” professionals teach and train participants of the retreat but by multiple requests from past retreats, Amy will be speaking to the women about achieving YOUR dreams.

Aaron from “Ace” Karate – St. George

Aaron “Ace” Martial arts is a trained professional that focuses on character building traits from the inside out including;  focus, discipline, self-control and perseverance to name a few.  Women know that running outside can be scary at times. Aaron is certified and teaches Krav Maga which is  a form of hand-to-hand combat, involving striking techniques, grappling, pre-emptive attacks, neutralizing the opponent, and gives you an exceptional awareness of your surroundings. At the Martial Arts Krav Maga Training Center of St. George, they show students how to use the skills they learn by providing them with real life, common street attack situations. The curriculum is dynamic, intense, and fun! You women will feel more comfortable running outside after you’ve mastered these important life skills at the retreat!

Ashley Poulson

It’s simple talking about Ashley. Two words: Hard Core. Ashley has been an exercise enthusiast all of her life and an instructor for over 11 years. She teaches multiple fitness classes and is loved by all of her participants.  Ashley knows a thing or two about fitness being that she’s competed competitively for years in triathlon and marathons. With 24 marathons under her belt, 4 Ironmans  and many 1/2 marathons she continues to grow being a better athlete every year.  You can call her “Iron Women” because that is exactly what she is. She if full of knowledge and ENERGY! She’s excited to bring her energy to our event. Grab your swim suit and learn some tips and tricks that she uses to glide through the water at her many triathlon.

MORE SPEAKERS WILL BE ADDED SOON!