One thing students rarely hear at St. Andrew’s School in downtown Honolulu is to sit still. That’s because Jennifer Grems, who oversees curriculum, teachers and students as the director for grades 6-12, has made movement part of every school day.

"If I saw a kid who was yawning or was really struggling, I’d tell them, ‘Hey, go take a lap. Take a sip of water while you’re out,’ and that would work every time," she said. "’It’s not a punishment. This is what your body needs, this is what your brain needs.’"

For Grems that advice not only comes from her experience as an educator, but from her experience as a runner.

Running has been a lifelong passion that started in preschool, continued in high school and college, and defines her even now. A distance runner, Grems hits the pavement nearly every day. Running puts Grems in a calm, meditative state that clears her mind.

"All of my big life decisions have been made while I’m out on a run," said Grems, who at 46 cuts a striking figure on campus with her spiked hair and energetic presence. "I can think back to decisions I made in high school — if I’m going to run for office, what schools I’m going to apply to, what school I’m ultimately going to go to, when I was dating my husband, thinking through ‘Do I want to continue this relationship?’"

She got into running early, age 4 or 5. Her parents were avid golfers, and when they went to hit balls at a field, she would pass the time by running. "I would run the perimeter. That was my way of making my way through that activity," she said. "It’s always been that way for me to be in my own space and just really take in what’s going on around me."

One of her happiest memories from those days was getting her first pair of waffle-bottom running shoes, then the rage among runners, to run a race at Hale Kula School on Schofield Barracks, where her father was a lieutenant colonel in the Army infantry.

"I just felt like I had wings on my feet, all bouncy-trouncy, because I had these really cool shoes on," she said, her eyes lighting up at the memory.

It almost came to a tragic halt in the summer before sixth grade, however.

Grems was riding around Schofield Barracks on her bike when a double-wheeled military transport vehicle, weighing upward of 2 tons, made a sharp turn around a corner and snagged the handlebars of her bike. As she struggled to pull her bike free — it was brand new — she got dragged under the truck, the wheels crushing her lower body.

"Thankfully, because the bike was between me and the curb, everything aligning just perfectly, a lot less damage was done than what probably would have ended up happening," she said.

Her left leg was crushed — she still has scars — and she suffered nerve damage that immobilized her from the waist down. She was told she wasn’t going to walk normally again, much less run. That didn’t sit right with Grems, who started testing her abilities as soon as she could — like riding her friend’s moped around base.

"All of those things didn’t match up with my lifestyle and the way I wanted to do things," she said. "I was being told one thing and would go and do another."

Looking back at the accident, Grems calls it a definitive moment that would lead to success both on and off the track.

After more than a year of intensive physical therapy, she was running and won a 5K race in seventh grade. She would go on to be an all-star athlete in high school at St. Andrew’s School, where she played soccer, swam and ran.

When she ran track her senior year, she was the undefeated state champion in the 3,200 meters, but because the team was so small, she also ran shorter races, threw the shot put and participated in the high jump.

"It was crazy but it was great good fun," she said. "We were the small little engine that could, but we were like, ‘We got this!’"

The experience taught Grems the importance of a good attitude — in life as well as sports.

"Everybody who’s on the line, pretty much they’ve all been following a similar training regimen," she said. "Some people may have a little bit more natural athleticism, but really what’s going to determine the outcome of the race on that day, so much it has to do with mindset."

Grems went on to compete at the University of Hawaii under local running guru Johnny Faerber, and competitiveness still runs in her veins. She recently ran the Ka Iwi Coast Run & Walk, intending to do it as a fun run with friends, but when her time at the mile mark proved disappointing, something kicked in.

"I found myself doing the things I would do when I was racing competitively," she said. "I’d put my eyes on a shirt, however many people up, and my goal would be, ‘I’m going to pick ’em off.’"

She finished fifth in her age group, which aggravates her. "Next year it’s game on," she said. "I’m racing it next year."

Now Grems frequently goes on 5-mile runs, running from her condominium near St. Andrew’s School out to Magic Island, or through Kakaako and back through town. Often she runs with her husband, John, a captain in the Honolulu Police Department.

She’s slower than she was in high school, when she could run a mile in about 5:40. Now she’s happy to cover the distance in eight minutes because she’s seeking something more satisfying: the runner’s high.

"You’re just clipping along, and everything’s in sync — breathing, legs — and there’s just this clarity," she said. "When I finish a run and it’s been like that, I’m like, ‘That’s it. Can I do it again?’"

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