Jason Knight, TV News Producer and LEGEND Compression Brand Ambassador, is a family man. Everything he gets out of running comes back to that fact, for better or for worse.
“Running is the key to preventing a family history of diseases that include diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease,” Jason said. “I run now, so I’ll have more time with my kids later. Because I run, I can keep up with the kids longer.”
What got Jason into running in the first place was his sister, but also visible track heroes like Carl Thomas and Michael Johnson. “I wanted to be like them. So, I ran track in high school. I just wanted to be fast. When I restarted my running passion about four years ago, it was more about being healthy, finding myself again and meeting people.”
Jason has found a very supportive community in running, who he refers to endearingly as his ‘run family.’ They propel him to push past his doubts and achieve something greater than himself. His squad includes members of a group he’s part of called ‘BlackMenRun,’ as well as some other high achievers he follows on social media.
“I want to be like them one day. Our local chapter meets several times a week, but the conversation never stops online. We’re always sharing our latest training run, or health tips,” he said.
Jason attributes his recent achievements to the unending ‘hurrah’s from his crew. “I’ve completed 3 marathons. Three years ago if you asked me how many marathons I will run, I would’ve answered with a big fat zero. So just completing those has been an accomplishment,” Jason said.
When asked what would #make2017LEGENDARY for him, he said, “I want to finish a half marathon in less than 1 hr 40 min. I also want to finish a marathon in under 4 hours. I want to run one of those times in Las Vegas. Then I want to complete my first bike race.”
To reach the aforementioned goals, he plans to lean on LEGEND Compression Wear to help him reduce his recovery times.
“I love that LEGEND is an all-American company and the products are made in North Carolina. Their background in medical compression gear gives me full confidence in their product. I know my socks don’t have to be super tight to be right,” he said.
Jason spoke to the benefits of medical-grade compression, having experienced the healing powers first-hand: “Wearing compression gear has helped me run faster and longer in training and racing. It helps speed up the recovery time after those long runs so I feel ready to run again. After a bad sprain a few years ago compression gear helped build up the confidence I needed to get back on the track,” he said.
When asked if he had any other post-run recovery tricks, in addition to wearing compression socks, Jason declined but added: “Unless turning on Netflix after a race is a trick.”
Jason has a busy life- trying to balance marriage with children and a high-stress job, all while trying to hit all the right beats. “I don’t always get the formula right, but I remain committed to my training, my family and my job. Sometimes and usually, I sacrifice sleep or watching my favorite TV shows to have 2 hours to run, play video games with my son, do yard work, or cook dinner for my wife,” Jason said. “In the beginning the urge was to skip a run. But once you establish a time of the day for your workout, it gets easier and easier to be consistent.”
But for what he puts in, Jason always seems to get back out. “My family has been really understanding and supportive in my fitness journey,” he said.
In addition to running and producing news stories, Jason is also a photographer. You can follow him on Twitter at @JayKnightPhotos and at Facebook.com/KnightLifeStudios.