by Annah Chaya
Running a half-marathon can be a difficult challenge for most. However, one 2022 St. Luke’s
Half finisher juggled balls while covering the entire 13.1-mile distance.
The roots of JoAnn Ireland’s “joggling” — the combination of running and juggling — started at
age eight with an interest in juggling, which was introduced to her through an order-by-mail
book club.
“On the back of an order form was an instructional videotape on juggling,” Ireland said. “I
thought it sounded really neat.”
Ireland gradually learned the basic concepts, which became useful a few years later on a school
trip to Philadelphia, where the Philadelphia Jugglers Club were holding their annual festival and
she was reintroduced to the art.
“We were making weekly trips down to Philadelphia to allow me to participate in the Juggling
Club,” Ireland said. “It’s basically a place where jugglers get together to juggle; some are
passing clubs or some, like myself, juggle individually.”
Ireland eventually got involved in the International Jugglers Association which led to her flying
out to Los Angeles in 1990 for an annual juggling festival. There, she practiced juggling with up
to five bean bags or balls at a time and was able to meet other jugglers from around the country.
At these associations, she was introduced to joggling in 100-meter races. When she began
joggling in her teenage years, Ireland usually only ran short distances and stuck to three bean
bags or balls at a time.
She strayed away from joggling for a while. It was not until she got older that she took up
running again and began registering for long-distance races. Ireland eventually added joggling
back into her lifestyle.
Now a thermal engineer in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Greenbelt, Md.,
resident has family in the Lehigh Valley. She enjoys running the St. Luke’s Half Marathon
because her family can come and watch her joggle. She also enjoys the scenery of the course.
She has run many marathons and shorter races. Depending on the length of the race and the number
of runners, she decides whether or not she will joggle.
“It was a nice way to do an activity where it was not only running, but it was also kind of doing
something with my upper body and keeping myself entertained,” Ireland said.