 | | Marla Runyan |  |
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| City, State: | Eugene, Oregon | | DOB: | 04-Jan-69 | | Age: | 41 | | Qualifying Performance: | 2:32:17 | Details:
1500m: 4:02.95 (2002)
5,000m: 14:59.20 (2004)
10,000m: 32:11.92 (2006)
Half Marathon: 1:11:19 (2002)
Marathon: 2:27:10 (2002)
2:32:17 Twin Cities (2006)
12Jul04 5,000m 2nd 15:07.48
16Jul00 1500m 3rd 4:06.44
15Jun96 heptathlon 10th
20Aug04 5,000m (heat) 9th 15:24.88
30Sep00 1500m 8th 4:08.30
10Oct04 The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon 7th 2:28:03
02Nov03 ING New York City Marathon 20th 2:45:12
21Apr03 Boston Marathon 5th 2:30:28
03Nov02 New York City Marathon 4th 2:27:10
01Oct06 Twin Cities Marathon 1st 2:32:17
A legally blind athlete, Marla Runyan finished 10th at the 1996 Olympic Trials heptathlon setting an American 800 meters heptathlon record of 2:04.70. She soon transformed into a middle distance runner and was the 1999 Pan American Games 1500m champion, finished 10th at the 1999 World Championships, and was eighth in the 2000 Olympic Games. Runyan has had some of her greatest glory over 5,000m. She won three straight USATF outdoor titles (2001-2003), and was second at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, qualifying for a spot on the Athens team. In 2006 she set a personal best of 32:11.92 at the Oregon Invitational. She has also scored a number of significant victories on the road, with U.S. titles at 5K, 10K and 20K, including her 2003 win at the New Haven Road Race where she set an American record of 1:05:52. Her marathon debut was spectacular as she ran 2:27:10 at the 2002 New York City Marathon, the second fastest American debut ever. She was fifth at Boston in 2003 and seventh at Chicago in 2004 before scoring another landmark with her national marathon title at the 2006 Twin Cities Marathon.
Runyan was born in Santa Maria, CA, and graduated from Camarillo High School in 1987. She was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the eyes, when she was nine years old, and her vision deteriorated to 20/300 in the left eye and 20/400 in the right eye. Runyan competed in gymnastics and soccer before she started participating in track and field, where she excelled in the high jump in high school and picked up the heptathlon in college at San Diego State. She graduated in 1991 with a B.S. degree in education of the deaf and masters in education of deaf-blind children. Her autobiography No Finish Line: My Life As I See It was published in 2001. She married her coach Matt Lonergan on August 5, 2002, and on September 1, 2005 gave birth to their daughter, Anna Lee.
marlarunyan.com
USATF bio
USOC bio
Runner's World: A Brief Chat (2008)
Fast-Women.com interview (2006)
Runner's World Chat (2005) |
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