AUGUST & SEPTEMBER
RUNNING TAT OF THE MONTH

Jessica Schmidt,
Iowa XC Athlete (formerly Hilliard Davidson)

   
Click to enlarge.

'08 update...two more tats!

You read it right, Jessica is both the August and September Tat of the Month award recipient. We figured that since she has three tattoo's all related to running and is local, we'd give her some extra love. A Hilliard Darby graduate from '04, she now runs for the University of Iowa XC and Track teams. She points out to us that Iowa brought home a 10th place finish at nationals- congrats!

Jessica's first tats appeared when she was a senior in high school, and featured two wings just above either ankle. She knew the moment she saw them that she was hooked. "I loved that I could show my passion in ink on my skin," she says.

Her third tattoo was done her freshmen year at Iowa. Although our picture is blurry, the letters underneath the running figure reads IXC. "I decided to show my true hawkeye passion," says Jessica. They must be doing something right over there.

The fourth and most extensive tattoo landed her lower back during her junior year. The Chinese characters stand for 'runner', and are separated by little footprints. She's always looking for new ways to show her passion and love for running. "I'm currently looking for another creative design," she says. We should also point out that she has another tattoo not related to running, but failed to tell us what it relates to. We'll keep guessing.

Next up for Jessica is a Graduate Assistant position at Belmont University with the track and cross country teams. Great job with the season to you and the Hawkeyes and best of luck at Belmont!

Oh yeah, we did a little research and we think we've found Jessica in our Big Ten meet coverage and figured we might as well match a face to the tats! Hope you don't mind....

www.columbusrunning.com/bigtens%2007%20034.jpg 

2008 Update - Two more tats!
The top of her left foot now has a Celtic cross. "Just reminds me that God has blessed me with a great life and ability to run and I get to glorify that everyday when I head out the door for a few miles," said Jessica.
Jessica also has scripted 'mens sana in corpore sana', which translates to 'a sound mind in a sound body'. A very wise choice indeed.
Only a month or so until she starts coaching at Belmont. All of the above would be a good ice breaker with the team!

Congrats to Jessica on earning a $15 gift certificate to the CRC and to Evolved.

Do you want to be the running tat of the month? Send us a picture at info@columbusrunning.com or stop by the store. Please let us know why, how, and when you got the tattoo...

Tat of the Month Archive
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL TAT CHAMPIONS FROM PAST TO PRESENT