 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 6, 1945 Atlanta, Georgia |
| Occupation | Athlete |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | Marathon |
| Retired | 1981 |
Gayle Barron (born 6 April 1945) is a former American marathon runner. From 1970 to 1978, Barron placed in the top five in marathons held across the United States and was the winner of the 1978 Boston Marathon. Barron was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
On 6 April 1945, [1] Barron was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She went to Druid Hills High School before attending the University of Georgia. [2] Barron graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism. [3]
In the 1960s, Barron began running while at the University of Georgia. She entered her first large race in the 1970 Peachtree Road Race. [4] As a co-founder of the Peachtree Road Race, [5] Barron was the top female finisher at Peachtree each year from 1970 to 1975 except for 1972 when she was beaten by Gillian Valk. [6] Barron also won the first three Peach Bowl Marathons held from 1972 to 1975. [7]
In 1974, Barron became a professional runner. [8] As a professional athlete, Barron placed in the top three at the Boston, New York and Honolulu marathons from 1975 to 1977. Barron's final win was at the 1978 Boston Marathon [9] and she continued to run until 1981. After ending her professional running career, Barron began working for an athletic clinic. [10] Outside of marathon running, Barron was a television broadcaster for WAGA-TV in Atlanta and coached a team of runners from the Leukemia Society of America. [3]
In 2003, Barron was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. [9] In 2007, Barron became a part of the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame. [11]
Joan Benoit Samuelson is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon for 32 years after winning the race in 1985. Her time at the Boston Marathon was the fastest time by an American woman at that race for 28 years. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.
William Henry Rodgers is an American runner, Olympian, and former record holder in the marathon. Rodgers is best known for his four victories in both the Boston Marathon, including three straight from 1978 to 1980, and 4 straight wins in the New York City Marathon, between 1976 and 1979.
Ambrose Joel "Amby" Burfoot is a former American marathoner whose peak competitive years came in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon. After retiring from competition, he became a running journalist and author. Burfoot was editor-in-chief at Runner's World for many years, and both writes for the magazine and serves as its editor-at-large.
Craig Steven Virgin is an American distance runner. He was born in Belleville, Illinois and grew up near Lebanon, Illinois. While in high school, Virgin won 5 state championships as well as setting the national outdoor high school 2-mile record of 8:40.9. Additionally, Virgin held the Illinois Boys Cross Country all-time state championship record for 47 years, running a 13:50.6 in 1972, a record that stood until November 9, 2019 when Josh Methner of John Hersey High School ran a 13:49.86. Virgin was Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1973.
Jeff Galloway is an American Olympian and the author of Galloway's Book on Running.
John Joseph "Johnny" Kelley was an American long-distance runner who won the 1957 Boston Marathon and the marathon at the 1959 Pan American Games. He was also a member of the United States Olympic teams of 1956 and 1960, competing in the marathon. He was often dubbed "Kelley the Younger" to avoid confusion with Johnny Kelley, winner of the 1935 and 1945 Boston Marathons; the two men were not related.
The Peachtree Road Race is an American 10-kilometer run held annually in Atlanta. After being held on Independence Day from 1970 to 2019, the race was cancelled because of the COVID pandemic after originally being set for Thanksgiving. It is the world's largest 10k race, a title it has held since the late 1970s. The race has become a citywide tradition in which over 70,000 amateur and professional runners try to register for one of the limited 60,000 spots. The event also includes a wheelchair race, which precedes the footrace. In recent years, the race also has a special division for soldiers stationed in the Middle East. The race attracts some of the world's elite 10K runners and has served as both the United States' men's and women's 10K championship.
The Gate River Run (GRR), formerly known as the Jacksonville River Run, is an annual 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) road running event in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, that attracts both competitive and recreational runners. It has functioned as the US National Championship 15K since 1994, and in 2007 became the largest 15K race in the country. It "was voted [as] one of the top US Road Races for last 20 years by Runner's World Magazine." Local news media describe it as "one of Jacksonville's premiere annual events."
Greg Meyer is an American long-distance runner. Meyer's winning time for the 1983 Boston Marathon race was 2:09.00. He was the last American to win the Boston Marathon until 2014, and the last person born in America to win the Chicago Marathon until 2017. He set ten American road racing records and two world records, and won the River Bank Run, in his home town of Grand Rapids, seven times.
Bruce Emery Bickford is a retired long-distance runner from the United States. He claimed the gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games in the Men's 10,000 metres, and represented his native country in the 1988 Summer Olympics. He set his personal best (27:37.17) in the 10,000 metres in 1985 in Stockholm, Sweden. Bickford won a gold medal in the 1989 United States Olympic Festival Half Marathon.
The Atlanta Marathon is an annual marathon held in Atlanta, Georgia, except in 2021 where it was held in Hampton, Georgia on the premises of Atlanta Motor Speedway because of governmental restrictions. On the same day, a half marathon is also held, and some years also feature a 5K run.
Caroline Walker is a former American long-distance runner from Oregon who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world best in the marathon on February 28, 1970 with a time of 3:02:53 at the inaugural Trail's End Marathon in Seaside, Oregon.
Jacqueline Hansen is a former long-distance runner from the United States who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world best in the marathon on two occasions.
Patti Catalano Dillon is a former long-distance runner from the United States who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set world bests in the half marathon, 30 kilometers, and 20 kilometers.
Kim Merritt is a former American long-distance runner who competed in the marathon. Her career coincided with the development of women's running in the United States and she was at the forefront of distance running in the mid-1970s.
Keith Alan "KB" Brantly is an American former professional long-distance runner who contended in the men's marathon at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Brantly finished twenty-eighth of one hundred and eleven runners who completed the race, in a time of 2:18:17. He is recognized for his extensive distance-running career that encompasses nearly three decades at distances that range from one mile to a marathon.
Betty Jo Geiger is an American former long-distance runner who competed in events ranging from 3000-meter run to the marathon.
Sara Mae Berman is an American marathon runner. Berman won the Boston Marathon as an unofficial winner from 1969 to 1971 as women were not allowed to compete until 1972. At subsequent Boston Marathons, Berman had a fifth place finish in both 1972 and 1973. Berman's wins were made official by the Boston Athletic Association in 1996. Outside of Boston, Berman finished third at the 1971 New York City Marathon. In 2015, she was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame.
Judy Shapiro-Ikenberry is a former long distance runner. Shapiro-Ikenberry won the 1967 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Las Vegas Marathon, and was the first USA Marathon Championships winner for women in 1974, at the AAU National Women's Marathon. She also won the 1977 US National 50-Mile Track Ultramarathon Championship.
Debbie Mueller is an American middle and long-distance runner who won many major road races in the 1980s and 1990s, including the Dublin Marathon.