Where Are They Now? Augusta University alumna stays connected to community through business, city council role

Jenafer Forward McCauley became interested in running during her elementary school days, when the Presidential Youth Fitness Program was known as the Presidential Fitness Test.

She would run the mile on field days, and, as she got older, running manifested into a passion that carried her into high school, to Augusta University and on to leadership roles in the community as a local business owner and city council member.

“It’s always been in my bloodline to be a runner,” she said.

She made the cross-country team as an eighth grader at Cherokee High School in Canton, Georgia, and, in her first-ever meet, she broke the school record. She remembers her parents had not shown up to the meet because no one knew the talent that lived inside her.

“I remember that moment pretty much set in place getting dedicated to cross-country and track,” said McCauley, who ran for Augusta University from 2005-08 and graduated in 2011 with a degree in kinesiology. “I realized my junior year it would probably lead me into college, and from there, it led me to this store and my husband and everything else.”

Adam Ward was coach of the women’s team when he began recruiting McCauley, which he recalled was a fun process because she and her parents “were great, outgoing people” and he could tell she was excited about the next chapter of competing in college.

Ward, who now coaches the men’s and women’s teams at the University of Maine, remembers her campus visit and showing her the recently built dorms, as well as having her meet Annie Kim and Amanda Griffin, who were his first recruits.

Ward said having McCauley join them gave the program a boost, saying she was a loyal, hard-working and resilient student-athlete who wasn’t always the most vocal leader, choosing to lead by example instead.

“She has a big heart and always looked out for her teammates. Her senior year she knew she had to be a leader and the one all the women looked to for guidance and direction,” Ward said. “She was a big part of helping us get the women’s program to be competitive in our conference and region. She became the only female and the first cross-country athlete to be named All-Conference four years in a row. She also led us to our first-ever trip to the NCAA championships in Pittsburgh in 2008. I’ll remember her dedication and work ethic, that team and that season forever.”

McCauley said Ward had a knack for being able to focus on an individual runner and their talents, and she felt like he was able to adapt plans to work for each person.

“He was always motivating and encouraging, and he really created a nice community between all of the runners,” said McCauley, who was an NCAA All-Region selection as well as Peach Belt Conference Freshmen of the Year during her time with the Jaguars. “I just felt like he always had the end goal in sight, so it was always like a building formation and just continuing to push people as much as they could.”

While she was finishing up college, she was working at a running store that was considering selling. Her now husband, Michael, a college runner himself at Gardner-Webb University, came to look at the store, and the employees took him out to show him the area. They hit it off, and six months later, they were engaged. Almost two years later, they sat down and explored the idea of running a business together.

In 2009, Michael bought Fleet Feet Augusta, and in 2011, they began operating it together, where they spread their passion for fitness throughout the Augusta area with the hopes of building a “fun and vibrant running community.” The business currently has more than 40 full-time and part-time employees.

Augusta and North Augusta have a great sense of community that the McCauleys like, and they settled down in North Augusta, where she is currently serving as a councilwoman.

McCauley said running has led her throughout her entire life so far, and running helped with this latest endeavor. Through her business, she felt they built a good community relationship with the foundations and charities she worked with, and that carried over into North Augusta, where one goal was to promote the Greeneway.

“One day somebody said, ‘You should run for council,’ and I was like, ‘You’ve got to be crazy.’ But then after I thought about it more, being a business owner, that passion for quality of life, and everything made sense to me,” she said. “I’ve got an 8-year-old son and twins that are 4, so I want them to be growing up in a great community.”

McCauley said her time at Augusta University was amazing, and learning more about accountability, commitment and initiative were all a big part of her success. She mentioned the biggest challenge as a student-athlete is finding motivation to perform and striving to hit the goals you’ve established for yourself.

Ward knew she would accomplish great things in life, saying that coaching and seeing her drive and determination daily “left me little doubt.”

Her time as a student-athlete helped mold the person she is today, and her words of encouragement to other student-athletes is just to soak it all in.

“You develop some good friendships, but you’re working hard and striving for goals,” she said. “And then once you finish, take that on with you and don’t let that go away. Whether you stick with your sport or not, just remember that community feel, that constant, every week of trying to strive for more and waking up with goals … that continues throughout life, and, if you can do that, I think it leads to success.”