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| Born | 1953 (age 71–72) | |||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||
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Lynae Larson (born 1953) is an American former marathon runner, who won the 1978 Chicago Marathon, and finished second in the 1979 Chicago Marathon. She failed to qualify for the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Larson was born in 1953 and studied at Dickinson State College, where she began running. [1] [2] In her sophomore year, Larson set four meeting records at the North Dakota Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women event. She set records in the 440-yard run, long jump, 200-meter low hurdles, and the 880-yard run. [3] In 1975, Larson won the long jump, 50 metres hurdles, 880-yard run and 1-mile run events at the same competition, and set a meeting record in the mile run. [4] From 1976 to 1977, Larson was the coach of the Dickinson State girls' track and field team. [5] The following year, Larson was a high school gym teacher in Brookings, South Dakota. [6] In 2002, Larson worked as a schoolteacher in Saint Paul, Minnesota. [7] She also worked as Women's Athletics Director at Dickinson State College. [8]
Larson failed to qualify for the marathon event at the 1976 Summer Olympics, after withdrawing 15 miles (24 km) into the qualification event due to an injury. [2]
Larson won the 1978 Chicago Marathon, [7] in a time of 2:59:25. [9] She received no prize money, as the event only began awarding prize money in 1982. [7] After the race, other runners were complaining about the 10:30 start, which had most runners finishing in 80 °F (27 °C) heat, [10] but Larson instead was concerned that the delayed start time affected her travel home, as she had to drive six hours back to Brookings, South Dakota, to work the next day. [7] [10] A race sponsor said the start time had been chosen to accommodate all entrants who lived outside the city. [10]
Larson competed at the 1979 Chicago Marathon, and was leading until around 1 mile (1.6 km) from the finish line, when she was overtaken by 15-year-old Laura Michalek. Larson eventually finished around a minute behind Michalek, [11] in second place. [12] In the same year, Larson won the second ever Lincoln Marathon, taking 31 minutes off the winning time from the previous year. [13]
In 1984, Larson won the Kaypro Super Run in Las Vegas. The event was only for amateur athletes, one from each of the 50 states of the US. Larson qualified as amateur as she had not competed at the Olympics. [7] [2] The promised prize money was $500,000, awarded as $10,000 per year for 50 years. However Larson only received $40,000 as the sponsor went bust four years later. [7] She was also promised five years of free travel with American Airlines as a prize, but only received two free trips. She also received a Rolex watch. [7]
In 1994, Larson came second in her age category at the Get in Gear race in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. [14] In 2006, Larson came seventh in her age category at a Minnesota Runners of the Year event. [15]
The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of finishers worldwide. The race was awarded the World Athletics Heritage Plaque in 2024, for "outstanding contribution to the history and development of road running."
The Twin Cities Marathon is a marathon in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area which normally takes place the first weekend in October. The race is often called "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America" due to a course that winds through downtown districts, then along parkways that hug lakes and waterways all throughout dense urban forests in the neighborhoods of both cities.
The Fargo Marathon is an annual road running marathon in Fargo, North Dakota, first held in 2005. Most years, it begins and ends inside the Fargodome, and the course also travels through Moorhead, Minnesota, Fargo's twin city. The event weekend also hosts a half marathon, 10K, and 5K. The race is a USATF-qualified course, so marathon finish times can be used to qualify for the Boston Marathon. The event has been sponsored by Sanford Health.
The 1934 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1934 college football season. In their third year under head coach Bernie Bierman, the Golden Gophers compiled an undefeated 8–0 record, shut out four opponents, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 270 to 38.
The North Dakota College Athletic Conference (NDCAC) was a collegiate athletic conference that ceased operations following the 1999–2000 academic school year when it merged with the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference to form the Dakota Athletic Conference. The former NAIA conference originally started as the Interstate Athletic Conference in 1922, with five North Dakota schools and Moorhead State Teachers College from Minnesota. Moorhead State left in 1931 to help found the Northern State Teachers Conference in 1931, and the remaining members brought in more schools to regroup as the NDCAC.
Joseildo Rocha da Silva is a Brazilian long-distance runner. He won the 1991 Chicago Marathon, the marathon event at the 1991 South American Championships in Athletics, and the 1993 Los Angeles Marathon. Da Silva competed in the men's marathon at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
The Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon is a race in Bemidji, Minnesota, first run in 2013. The race runs around a lake, along a state trail and through a state park. It takes place in October, when many of the forest surroundings are bright with color.
Laura Michalek is a former American runner who won the 1979 Chicago Marathon. Although she initially finished in third place at Chicago, Michalek was declared the winner after the first two finishers were disqualified. After ending her athletic career, Michalek was an antique furniture seller in Seattle, Washington from 1994 to 2005 before becoming a charity auctioneer in 2005.
Dorothy Doolittle is an American former marathon runner and athletics coach, who won the inaugural Chicago Marathon in 1977. She was an assistant coach of the US Women's team at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
The 1991 Chicago Marathon was the 14th running of the annual marathon race in Chicago, United States and was held on October 27. The elite men's race was won by Brazil's Joseildo da Silva in a time of 2:14:33 hours and the women's race was won by Sweden's Midde Hamrin in 2:36:21.
The 1978 Chicago Marathon was the second running of the annual marathon race in Chicago, United States and was held on September 24. The elite men's and women's races were won by Americans Mark Stanforth (2:19:20) and Lynae Larson (2:59:25). The race was run in temperatures at times above 80 °F (27 °C), which caused hundreds of competitors to need medical attention.
Dan Cloeter is a retired athlete and current pastor in Osceola, Nebraska. While attending Concordia University Nebraska, Cloeter was forty-eighth at the 1972 Amateur Athletic Union Cross Country Championships and seventh at the 1973 NAIA Men's Cross Country Championship. Between 1973 and 1981, Cloeter competed in American marathons including multiple appearances at the Chicago Marathon. Cloeter won the 1977 event, then known as the Mayor Daley Marathon, and was third in 1978. He won again in 1979, the year the marathon's name was changed to the America's Marathon-Chicago.
Elaine Van Blunk is an American long-distance runner who finished third at the 1994 Chicago Marathon. She was the 1989 winner of the 3000 meters at the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships, and finished seventh in the 10,000 meters event at the 1991 Pan American Games.
Sally Brent is an American long-distance running athlete who broke barriers for female runners in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Brent was the winner of the inaugural Twin Cities Marathon in 1982, running the race in 2:43:50. Only a few other American women had breached the 2:45:00 mark in 1982, and just seven years earlier, it had been the woman's world record.
Sammy Malakwen is a middle- and long-distance runner from Kenya who also trained in Two Harbors, Minnesota. He has won several major marathons, and has finished in the top 10 of several major road races.
Mark Stanforth is an American former marathon runner and coach, who won the 1978 Chicago Marathon. He failed to qualify for the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics.
Pasca Jerono is a Kenyan-born American middle- and long-distance runner best known for winning the 2014 Grandma's Marathon in 2:33:45.
Dakotah Marie Popehn is an American professional long-distance runner sponsored by Puma who qualified to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Popehn gained notoriety after winning back-to-back victories at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota in 2021 and 2022. Her victory in 2022 made her the 12th fastest U.S. women's marathoner of all time.
Mary Adah Akor Beasley is a Nigerian–American athlete who competed for the US at the 2005 and 2007 World Marathon Championships. In 2006, she was ranked the seventh fastest U.S. woman marathoner of the year; in 2007, the sixth. She runs multifarious marathons around the United States, Mexico and Africa. After running the Gobernador Marathon in Mexicali, Mexico, in December 2012, she was found to be using a banned substance. She accepted her sanction and returned to competition in 2015.
Minnesota Distance Elite, previously known as Team USA Minnesota, is a long-distance running team based in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The team is designed to support the running careers of post-collegiate athletes, supporting athletes from middle distance to the marathon. By 2024, Minnesota Distance Elite is widely recognized as one of the top American running teams.
