OAKLEY -- It's been a banner-busting year for Jennifer Kadavy.

The 31-year-old Concord resident, a cross country and track coach and English teacher at Freedom High School in Oakley, got married, got buff and got a spot in the 2016 U.S. Olympic team marathon trials.

Traveling the 26.2 miles between Calistoga and Napa on March 2, Kadavy was a blur. She placed first in the Napa Valley Marathon at 2:40:47, after having blue-ribboned February's Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon with a 1:16 finish. A few days after cranking herself up the 250-foot Golden Gate Bridge incline, in the 31st annual Across the Bay 12K (she came in second), Kadavy sat down for an interview.

"I'd like to run Big Sur, just for fun," she says. "I'm running the California International Marathon from Folsom to Sacramento in December. I want to find another fast course before then."

Her focus, narrow and deep, is showing up in her numbers. Shaving precious seconds off her times, she managed to dip under the Olympic Trial "B" standard of 2:43. Now, she's aiming for "A," a goal that would mean clipping three minutes. "I have four marathons where I can try to do it," she says.

Growing up in Fremont, her father signed her up for road races at the age of 4.

"He's a runner too, and he taught me to pace myself. All the other girls were sprinting, then walking. I'd run right on by," she recalls.

During her freshman year at San Jose's Notre Dame High School, coach Matt Andrade led her through tough, repeat workouts. Pushing past her limits made her realize she didn't have limits, and running hard -- and long -- became a rewarding experience.

"I never regret going for a run," she says. "I feel lighter, emotionally and physically. I'm more clearheaded and positive, even when my pace isn't what I wanted it to be."

At UC Davis, Kadavy encountered a series of speed bumps -- injuries she says resulted from a lack of planning and trying to keep up with the team's top seven runners.

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Freedom High teacher on the move