Kim Merritt

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Kim Merritt
Born (1955-05-22) May 22, 1955 (age 68)
Long-distance runner
Years active1973—1984

Kim Merritt (born May 22, 1955 in

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.

She won the 1975

Crim 10 mile run and Gate River Run
. She ceased competing around 1980, although she made an unsuccessful attempt at the 1984 Olympic Marathon Trials.

Career

She attended the

student-athlete.[1]

Merritt took the inaugural honours at the

Michiko Gorman to win the race in a time of 2:46:15 hours.[4] This also made her that year's national champion over the distance and ranked her as the fourth fastest woman in the world in 1975.[5][6]

She ran in three marathons the following year, starting with a win at the Boston Marathon in April.[7] Running in her first race abroad, she took second place at the Waldniel Women's Marathon in West Germany behind Christa Vahlensieck.[8] Her third and final run over the distance in 1976 came at the 1976 Honolulu Marathon in December, which she won in a personal record time of 2:44:44.[9] This was the fastest run by an American woman that year.[10]

Merritt broke the

American record for the distance at the 1977 Nike OTC Marathon in Eugene, Oregon, winning the women's race with a time of 2:37:57.[11] She returned to the New York Marathon but finished as the runner-up, beaten to the finish by Michiko Gorman.[12]

Merritt entered and won a number of road races in 1977: she won the seven-mile

Crim 10 mile run,[14] the Virginia Ten Miler,[15] She also took consecutive wins at the Bellin Run 10K from 1977–79.[16] She was the inaugural winner of the Gate River Run 15K in 1978 and won the second edition of the Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic held that same year.[17][18]

The 1978 season was her busiest in terms of marathons: she opened her year at the Boston Marathon, just missing the podium with a fourth-place finish, and ran at the inaugural Cleveland Marathon the following month, where she finished second after Jacqueline Hansen. Her next race over the 26 miles and 385 yards distance came at the Oregon Track Club race and she finished sixth while the winner Julie Brown set the fastest time of the year. Merritt's final run of the year came at a race on home turf in New Glarus, Wisconsin, which she won in 2:53:53.[19]

Her final year of competition at the top level was in 1979. She ran at the Boston Marathon and came in sixth place, although she was ten minutes behind the women's winner

1984 Los Angeles Olympics, but her run of 2:43:31 was only enough for 53rd place.[22]

References

  1. ^ Hall of Fame Members. UW Parkside Rangers (2008-09-24). Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  2. ^ Charleston Distance Classic 15 miles. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2010-09-14). Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  3. ^ Kass, Glenn (2010-07-26). Quad-City Times Bix 7 mile. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  4. ^ New York City Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2010-11-09). Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  5. USATF
    . Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  6. ^ World Marathon Rankings for 1975. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  7. ^ Boston Marathon history. Universal Sports. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  8. ^ World Marathon Rankings for 1976. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  9. ^ Macdonald wins marathon title. Honolulu Marathon. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  10. ^ Yearly Rankings- USA Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2005-08-11). Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  11. ^ 1896-1928: The Beginning - Women on their Own Archived 2011-05-16 at the Wayback Machine. Run Like A Girl. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  12. ^ Longman, Jere (2010-11-04). A Women’s Running Pioneer Enjoys Life in the Slow Lane. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  13. ^ Monti, Dave (2009-08-10). Falmouth Road Race 7 miles. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  14. ^ Crim Road Race 10 mile. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2010-08-30). Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  15. ^ Post, Marty (2010-09-28). Virginia 10 Mile. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  16. ^ Leydig, Jack (2010-06-14).Bellin Run 10 km. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  17. ^ Post, Marty (2010-05-15). River Run 15 km. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  18. ^ Monti, Dave (2010-06-04). Ogden Newspapers Classic 20K. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  19. ^ World Marathon Rankings for 1978. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  20. ^ World Marathon Rankings for 1979. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  21. Runners World
    . Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
  22. ^ 1984 Olympic Team Trials Results. Boston Trials. Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
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