University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Jill Swope
August 14, 2020 | Cross Country, Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
When Jill Swope gets up in the morning and goes for a run, she is in many ways just like you and me. She's getting in a workout to start her day, using the time to think about what's going on with her family and her work, or to think about nothing at all.
Unlike the average morning jogger, however, Swope, as she told me during a recent Quick Chat, will get up and churn out nine miles at a 7:00 pace. When she was still Jill Steffens and one of the greatest distance runners in Georgia history — the 2007 All-American and 12-time All-SEC runner still holds the school record in the 10,000 meters — moving at a 7:00 pace would be a bit like running in slow motion. Now, it's fast enough for the mother of three most days, but she can still turn on the jets when she wants to.
After finishing her Bulldog career in 2007, Swope raced professionally for a couple of years and won the 2008 USA Women's 20K national championship. She and her husband, Mike, who also ran for Georgia, are both in the real estate business in Athens.
During our Chat, Swope talked about life during the coronavirus pandemic, her morning workouts, seeing Georgia's distance runners out on the roads and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What have the last four or five months been like for you?
Swope: The last five months have really been a pretty sweet season for our family. We have three little ones under 6, and Mike and I have been working parents ever since they were born. I think I maybe took four weeks of maternity leave for all three ... so we've always been pretty career-oriented while trying to spend time with our family. This period has been kind of a cool period when I kind of just got to be a mom, and that was really cool for me.
I've always had to balance both and I really didn't have to do that.
Frierson: I know from your undergraduate days that you were interested in getting into real estate, so what was it about that area of business that drew you to it?
Swope: I can't say I knew 100 percent that I knew I wanted to pursue real estate. I knew that I wanted to be in business and I found the process of companies operating and the competition of that really interesting. I kind of always liked those real estate-geared shows and I oddly was obsessed with Monopoly growing up.
I really just knew I wanted to be in business and real estate seemed like a good school at UGA.
Frierson: Do you think about your college running days much?
Swope: Oh, man, I have so many good memories. Really great relationships were made, I had some very solid coaches, and I think being in a university environment like UGA, there's kind of an elevated sense of camaraderie or duty or honor in a way that you don't really feel in high school. It's just the magnitude of the school and when you fly places to race against Stanford and Wisconsin and Florida — the level of competition is really elevated.
I just have really good memories of the team as a unit, but also getting to travel across the country and compete against the best in the country. That was just a really fun time. If you're competitive and you like that kind of stuff, that's just an experience that's hard to describe if you haven't walked through it. It was a great honor, honestly.
Frierson: What is your exercise routine like these days?
Swope: Running is definitely my therapy. I feel super relaxed about two miles into the run — it's just kind of the place where I get my thoughts together. Sometimes I'll run a little bit faster, but in short distances. I don't really do any races, I haven't raced a 10K in probably four or five years.
This morning I probably ran nine miles at maybe a 7:00-ish-minute pace, so I'm still moving but if I latched on to the college group, I think I would feel my years at that point. ... I definitely enjoy it, I really do. If I have to go to the gym, I can go to the gym one day a week and then I'm kind of over it. I like being outside, I like the movement of running, so it's definitely my preferred route — and certainly, you can blow off some steam, too, while you're doing it.
Frierson: It seems like you improved a great deal during your college years and maybe reached heights that you never expected when you came here. What's it like to go through that, seeing yourself excel beyond anything you thought possible?
Swope: It was something else, it was definitely quite an experience. I think going into Georgia, I kind of knew talent-wise I was going to be similar to the other girls on the team. I was probably middle of the pack in terms of raw natural talent, but one thing that helped me was I was able to stay healthy for a really long period of time.
I was injured my freshman year and we decided to redshirt through the whole year, and once I got my legs under me my sophomore year, I just was able to endure a lot. My body would just hold up under a tremendous amount of pressure and training, and I think as far as sheer grit and work ethic, I had that in spades.
If I could combine staying healthy and the work ethic, and the ability to endure and stay focused on it in college while there are other college distractions going on, those things I definitely had in my favor.
Frierson: I often see Georgia's distance runners doing their thing on sidewalks around town, little packs here and there, and just marvel at the pace and the ease with which they appear to be running. What do you think when you see them?
Swope: I just saw the girls out running yesterday morning and I smiled and we said hi to each other. In that moment, that morning, I thought, man, that's such a fun season that they're in, being able to focus on training and it's so exciting. I just kind of felt excited for them, knowing what experiences they were about to have.
But there's also plenty of times when I've been driving down Lumpkin and glance over at the track and somebody's running (1,000-meter) repeats in 90-degree heat, with 60 seconds rest in between intervals, and I'm thinking, oh, God bless them, I'm really glad I'm not doing that right now because I remember how hard it was [laughs].
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Swope: I can't say I've ever thought of that question. You know, I always admire singers that can go and perform in front of 70,000 people. I think about how nuts it is that they can sing the way they do, and second of all, they're confident enough to go out on stage and do all that. That would be something that's so far outside of my wheelhouse and capacity, so that would be a really cool thing to try on. It's not something I will ever be able to do on my own.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Â
Staff Writer
When Jill Swope gets up in the morning and goes for a run, she is in many ways just like you and me. She's getting in a workout to start her day, using the time to think about what's going on with her family and her work, or to think about nothing at all.
Unlike the average morning jogger, however, Swope, as she told me during a recent Quick Chat, will get up and churn out nine miles at a 7:00 pace. When she was still Jill Steffens and one of the greatest distance runners in Georgia history — the 2007 All-American and 12-time All-SEC runner still holds the school record in the 10,000 meters — moving at a 7:00 pace would be a bit like running in slow motion. Now, it's fast enough for the mother of three most days, but she can still turn on the jets when she wants to.
After finishing her Bulldog career in 2007, Swope raced professionally for a couple of years and won the 2008 USA Women's 20K national championship. She and her husband, Mike, who also ran for Georgia, are both in the real estate business in Athens.
During our Chat, Swope talked about life during the coronavirus pandemic, her morning workouts, seeing Georgia's distance runners out on the roads and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What have the last four or five months been like for you?
Swope: The last five months have really been a pretty sweet season for our family. We have three little ones under 6, and Mike and I have been working parents ever since they were born. I think I maybe took four weeks of maternity leave for all three ... so we've always been pretty career-oriented while trying to spend time with our family. This period has been kind of a cool period when I kind of just got to be a mom, and that was really cool for me.
I've always had to balance both and I really didn't have to do that.
Frierson: I know from your undergraduate days that you were interested in getting into real estate, so what was it about that area of business that drew you to it?
Swope: I can't say I knew 100 percent that I knew I wanted to pursue real estate. I knew that I wanted to be in business and I found the process of companies operating and the competition of that really interesting. I kind of always liked those real estate-geared shows and I oddly was obsessed with Monopoly growing up.
I really just knew I wanted to be in business and real estate seemed like a good school at UGA.
Frierson: Do you think about your college running days much?
Swope: Oh, man, I have so many good memories. Really great relationships were made, I had some very solid coaches, and I think being in a university environment like UGA, there's kind of an elevated sense of camaraderie or duty or honor in a way that you don't really feel in high school. It's just the magnitude of the school and when you fly places to race against Stanford and Wisconsin and Florida — the level of competition is really elevated.
I just have really good memories of the team as a unit, but also getting to travel across the country and compete against the best in the country. That was just a really fun time. If you're competitive and you like that kind of stuff, that's just an experience that's hard to describe if you haven't walked through it. It was a great honor, honestly.
Frierson: What is your exercise routine like these days?
Swope: Running is definitely my therapy. I feel super relaxed about two miles into the run — it's just kind of the place where I get my thoughts together. Sometimes I'll run a little bit faster, but in short distances. I don't really do any races, I haven't raced a 10K in probably four or five years.
This morning I probably ran nine miles at maybe a 7:00-ish-minute pace, so I'm still moving but if I latched on to the college group, I think I would feel my years at that point. ... I definitely enjoy it, I really do. If I have to go to the gym, I can go to the gym one day a week and then I'm kind of over it. I like being outside, I like the movement of running, so it's definitely my preferred route — and certainly, you can blow off some steam, too, while you're doing it.
Frierson: It seems like you improved a great deal during your college years and maybe reached heights that you never expected when you came here. What's it like to go through that, seeing yourself excel beyond anything you thought possible?
Swope: It was something else, it was definitely quite an experience. I think going into Georgia, I kind of knew talent-wise I was going to be similar to the other girls on the team. I was probably middle of the pack in terms of raw natural talent, but one thing that helped me was I was able to stay healthy for a really long period of time.
I was injured my freshman year and we decided to redshirt through the whole year, and once I got my legs under me my sophomore year, I just was able to endure a lot. My body would just hold up under a tremendous amount of pressure and training, and I think as far as sheer grit and work ethic, I had that in spades.
If I could combine staying healthy and the work ethic, and the ability to endure and stay focused on it in college while there are other college distractions going on, those things I definitely had in my favor.
Frierson: I often see Georgia's distance runners doing their thing on sidewalks around town, little packs here and there, and just marvel at the pace and the ease with which they appear to be running. What do you think when you see them?
Swope: I just saw the girls out running yesterday morning and I smiled and we said hi to each other. In that moment, that morning, I thought, man, that's such a fun season that they're in, being able to focus on training and it's so exciting. I just kind of felt excited for them, knowing what experiences they were about to have.
But there's also plenty of times when I've been driving down Lumpkin and glance over at the track and somebody's running (1,000-meter) repeats in 90-degree heat, with 60 seconds rest in between intervals, and I'm thinking, oh, God bless them, I'm really glad I'm not doing that right now because I remember how hard it was [laughs].
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Swope: I can't say I've ever thought of that question. You know, I always admire singers that can go and perform in front of 70,000 people. I think about how nuts it is that they can sing the way they do, and second of all, they're confident enough to go out on stage and do all that. That would be something that's so far outside of my wheelhouse and capacity, so that would be a really cool thing to try on. It's not something I will ever be able to do on my own.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
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Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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