Former Georgia State Panther Jenn Feenstra is now a college math professor, but running is still in her blood.

We chased down the 28-year bundle of energy to see if she was running in the July 4th Peachtree Road Race and learned a lot more of what she has been up to.

FEENSTRA PAST: Ran 29 cross country races at Georgia State, winning 12 and finishing in the top 10 23 times from 2000-2003...Conference runner of the year and NCAA National Qualifier with a 44th place in the National Championship Meet...Won five track titles in the springs as a six-time all-conference star...Finished 10th in NCAA National Indoor Track Championship in 5,000m...Three-time Academic All-American.

FEENSTRA PRESENT: Math professor by day at Gainesville State College and returning to avid runner...Finished the Boston Marathon this spring as the 17th fastest woman finisher and 312th overall finisher among the 26,000 runners...Hopes to finish in the top 25 females again and top 250 finishers overall in this year's Peachtree Road Race.

FEENSTRA FUTURE: Plans to work towards Ph. D. in mathematics while training for the 2012 Olympics. With her 3.96 magna cum laude undergraduate degree and her 4.0 master's, the Ph. D. appears likely. With her grit and determination as a runner, the Olympics may not be all that far-fetched.

Still a resident of Duluth, Ga., Feenstra drives the 35 minutes northwest to Gainesville State College, a growing school with 6,000 students on that campus. She finished her third year at GSC, teaching everything from learning support to calculus.

But, the running bug bit her again in 2008 thanks to a co-worker and she ran her first-ever marathon, the Country Music Marathon in Nashville in April. She did that in an even three hours, which was fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

So, this April, Feenstra was off to Boston for the experience of a lifetime. Here is some of the descriptive of what that adventure was like.

Boston was an incredible experience. The whole city seemed to know about the marathon and the airport was filled with banners. From the moment we got off the plane, everyone was asking if we were running in the marathon. Having over 26, 000 marathoners in one city was amazing. Most people wore their Boston jackets that weekend, so it was easy to spot the runners.

We arrived in Boston on Friday afternoon and spend Saturday and Sunday sightseeing. The race was Monday morning. It started 26.2 miles from downtown Boston and ran into central city. The town where it started was called Hopkinton. All the athletes were bused to the start line from downtown Boston. I left Downtown Boston around 6:30 am and arrived at Hopkinton around 7:30 am. The race didn't start till 10:00am, so they had an athlete's village set up at a local high school for all the athletes to wait till the start of the race.

Although it was pretty cold that morning (in the 30s early, but low 40s by start time), the time before the race seemed to go by quick since it was a great chance to meet people from around the country and world. About an hour before the race, we started walking toward the start line. I was a little bit nervous but also excited. I couldn't believe I was running in one of the most well known marathons in the world. At the start line, it seemed like the whole town was out watching. Because of the course, it was very hard for spectators to come to the start line, so it felt different having no one I know at the start line, although everyone seemed to be cheering for everyone. I was in corral 2, so I was pretty close to the start line. My goal of the race was to feel to good and hopefully finish under 3 hours.

When the gun went off, I felt very overwhelmed and very special to be in such a race. I started out conservatively as did most people around me, which I think helped me run a good race. For the first few miles, the street was very packed with runners and the sound of chit chat from runners. I have never heard so many people talk during a race but it helped me stay relaxed.

The spectators along the streets were great! There was never an area where no one was not cheering for you. The course went through a bunch of little towns on its way to Boston. One particular cheering section that stands out in my mind is when we passed Wellesley College, an all girls' college. They call that area the scream tunnel. And being a girl, they screamed even louder for you when you ran by. When I left the college area, my ears were ringing.

I felt really comfortable through the half marathon and was running a very even pace. Mile 20 was called heartbreak hill. The hill was not that bad compared to some of the hills I have run in Atlanta, but the fact that it was at mile 20 made it hard.

I survived the hill and that is when I started to feel my legs burn. Fortunately, my boyfriend was at mile 22 to cheer me on. This was a big relief and gave me a burst of energy. He said I still looked very relaxed, although I was getting a little uncomfortable. From my mile 22 to the finish, my legs were burning, but as much as I wanted to stop, the crowds kept me going. Also, at this point, it was easier to keep going then to stop because I knew if I stopped, I would never be able to get moving again.

I looked at my watch with a mile to go and realized I was way under my goal, so I knew I just had to finish now. It felt good to know it didn't really matter what I ran my last mile in, I would still be under 3 hours!!

The home stretch was down Boylston Street. The crowds here were absolutely amazing. I could see the finish line for about 200 meters. I was very relieved. With about 150 meters to go, I gave my final kick and saw the clock at about 2:46...I was very excited and couldn't believe it! I was hoping to be in the 2:50's but thought being in the 2:40's was impossible. I finished 2:46.16, 14 full minutes faster than my first marathon! (Editor's Note: to run that fast, one must average 6 minutes, 21 seconds per mile for each and every one of the 26 miles, 385 yards). My legs were done; I could feel like they were about to cramp if I sat down. So, I made sure to keep moving. I guess after the race, I was on cloud 9. Everyone I talked to seemed to be impressed with my effort and suggesting what I should do next.

I am very excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for me now. Since Boston, I have been recovering physically and taking the running light and easy. My next race is the Peachtree, which will be my fifth time to run.

If you're watching the Peachtree on TV this July 4th or from the streets along the race route, keep an eye out for the red-headed math professor. She appears to be a young lady on a mission!