Sometimes I feel a little like Forrest Gump. Managed to be in the right place at the right time when something historic was going down. Once or twice. Of course, sometimes they tell you where it’s gonna happen and when. And all I had to do was show up. The first women’s USA Olympic Marathon Trials – May 12, 1984 – was historic because the sport finally came of age, an age of equality. I showed up. Here’s the view from the press truck.
And an invitation to celebrate at a reunion with distance greats, Joan Benoit, Jacqueline Hansen and Laurel James. – JDW
When I first started running, I was so embarrassed I’d walk when cars passed me. I’d pretend I was looking at the flowers. – Joan Benoit Samuelson.
There was the grey of the overcast skies and the hair of 54-year-old Sister Marion Irvine. There was the evergreen of Douglas fir and 16-year-old Cathy Schiro. There was the gold of the Scotch broom and the dreams of the top three finishers. There was the mystery and misery and mastery of Joan Benoit. There was the control and confidence of Julie Brown. There were the hopes of 238 starters. There was no tomorrow and there will never again be another first Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials.
Balloons soared as the starter’s gun sounded. The field chased thirteen lead vehicles through a mile in 5:44 and all the favorites were there – Benoit, Brown, Betty Springs, Lisa Larsen, Mary & Julie Shea and, off to the left, Patti Catalano. By 2 km, Benoit found herself in the lead, surprised at the ease of the pace but accustomed to the position.
Passing 2M in 11:30, Benoit seemed adequately warmed up and all but eleven challengers had already fallen away. “I couldn’t get comfortable in the first two miles, so I moved out,” Benoit explained of 3M and 5km clockings of 17:00 and 17:33, a 2:28 pace. “My body was telling me what to do.”
Benoit’s bod also was telling Springs what to do as the Athletics West duo began to pull away. Only Brown, Larsen and Jeanne Lasse-Johnson tried to maintain contact. They didn’t succeed.
“I was aware of the pace,” said Brown, whose only goal was an Olympic berth. “I knew they would come back to me. Well, I didn’t know about Joan, but she didn’t matter.”
Benoit and Springs reach 4M in 22:30 and 5M in 28:09. As the Tumwater Thunderbirds Marching Band tuned up, Margaret Groos pulled into contention for third place. No one seemed to remember how many miles, how much time, remained.
The Sunset Drive-In advertised a youth-oriented double feature of Footloose and Hard To Hold, as Springs and Benoit passed 6M in 33:42. When they hit 10km in 34:54, the second pack – some 23 seconds back – was led by Carol Urish-McLatchie and Sue King. Larsen rambled in between. Thirty-eight minutes into the race, the leaders surged, opening a significant margin over Larsen as Benoit ran the seventh mile in 5:30.
Climbing the route’s initial hill at the Olympia Brewing Co., Springs began to pull away. Benoit stepped rather gingerly, obviously favoring one or more of her injuries. By 8M (44:32) Springs was a stride ahead. By 8.4, Springs was the clear leader, forcing the pace. Benoit and Springs blew by 9M in 50:18, a 2:26:30 pace. Julie Brown stalked along some 25 seconds back and The Royal Bananas, a one-boy drum band, banged away to the largest crowd of his career.
Miles in 5:37 and 5:41 did nothing to change the scene as Springs, not her companion, seemed to be the leader. Joanie and Betty hit 12M in 1:07:12 with Larsen 16 seconds back and a patient Brown another 18 behind the former Michigan swimming star.
Obviously, Benoit, all 5-3/105 of her seemingly held together by sheer determination, decided the time had come to win the race. At 20km (1:09:32) she had managed to build a two-second margin over Springs. At the halfway point (1:13:18) Benoit was pulling away as fast as Springs was dropping back. Every stride brought Benoit closer to the finish, the predators closer to Springs and Springs closer to an attempt at an Olympic berth at 3000m.
Benoit continued her drive, passing 25km in 1:27:01. Springs was still headed backwards. Larsen was going nowhere fast and Brown was saving both her move and her energy. At 16.5M Brown gained a spot on the team. When Benoit passed 18M in 1:41:05, Larsen passed Springs. Oh, for a finish line at 30km (1:44:54).
But this was not just any marathon; this was a damn soap opera. Could Joanie hold up just 17 days after arthroscopic surgery on her right knee? Would Julie try for the victory? Could Lisa hold her position against the pacers who must be about to arrive? Yes, no and, ahh, no. Yeah! Why should she? And, nice try, but the better woman won.
Benoit went by 20M in 1:52:46. Twenty-Sixth Avenue Northwest is the toughest part of the course and it was here the true test began for Ol’ No. 1. “I was running pretty comfortably, but the last six miles were tough,” Benoit admitted. “Cardiovascular-wise, I was fine, but the legs wouldn’t go. I knew if the pack came up on me and it came to a kick, I couldn’t do it.”
She had already done it to the pack, as her 2:31:04 (the best ever by an American in an all-women’s race on a loop course) gave her 37 seconds of breathing room over Brown, who was already mentally packing for Los Angeles.
“I came here to place in the top three and run as easily as I could,” said the 2nd-place finisher (2:31:41). “I expected to have to run a 2:27 or 2:28 and I saved a lot. I held back until the 20M mark and was ready to race if I needed to. I won’t hold back in the Olympics.”
Larsen held back nothing except the challenge of 234 women. She held back everything they had. She held back the stunningly audacious charge of Schiro, too young to know she shouldn’t be an Olympian, too fast not to try. Schiro held them all back for 25 miles. Still, her “fade” to 9th garnered a World Junior Record of 2:34:24.
Julie Isphording, a 22-year-old who graduated in absentia (and magna cum laude) from Ohio’s Xavier University this day, is a special kind of woman.
She began to jog five years ago to improve her tennis game. Her running improved enough to earn the No. 45 seed in this race. Ten miles of racing put her in 3rd. “My plan was to go out with the lead pack, but they took off too fast for me,” she recounted. “I had my doubts.”
Those doubts didn’t slow the charismatic darkhorse as she moved past one mile, one runner, one obstacle after another: “I knew when I was like 19th through 11th, but I had no concept from 9th to 3rd. All I concentrated on was mileage markers and passing people.”
She moved from 6th to 5th in the twenty-third mile, but she was still 58 seconds behind Larsen. A 5:19 penultimate mile was more than enough to write the conclusion to this fairy tale as she lowered her personal record to 2:32:26 in gaining an Olympic berth and the No. 6 position on the all-time U.S. list.
But the end was only the beginning. For Joan Benoit it was a victory over her own body. For Julie Brown it was a chance to go to the Olympics after the boycott of 1980. For Julie Isphording it was a living dream. For Lisa Larsen (4th in a PR 2:33:10) it was pride. For Margaret Groos (2:33:38) it was a personal best and an alternate’s berth. For 238 athletes it was the ultimate competition.
Women and running will never be the same.
https://running.pocketoutdoormedia.com/30-years-first-womens-olympic-trials_102670
5th Anniversary of First Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials Set for May 17-19 in Olympia; Olympic Gold Medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, 1984 Trials Qualifiers, and Women’s Running Pioneers to Participate
United States, Washington, Olympia – 04/16/2019 (PRDistribution.com)
Women marathon runners who made history in the first-ever Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials will reunite in Olympia, May 17-19, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the historic event that took place on the original Capital City Marathon course in 1984.
Organized by the Olympic Trials Legacy Committee, in partnership with the Capital City Marathon Association, the reunion weekend features three days of festivities and events commemorating the accomplishments of women marathon runners from all over the United States who ran in the 1984 trials.
Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won the Olympic qualifying race just 17 days following arthroscopic knee surgery, will participate in the weekend’s events. Qualifying for the USA Olympic Team in Olympia May 12, 1984, Benoit went on to win the Women’s Marathon in 2:24:52 at the 1984 Los Angeles games.
“It is an honor for me to return to Olympia 35 years after winning the first marathon trials here,” Benoit Samuelson said. “It’s a homecoming to a community that embraced and hosted all of us who qualified for this historic event. The outpouring of support and enthusiasm remains palpable to this day,” she said. “I look forward to celebrating this anniversary with participants, volunteers, and citizens who made the event possible.” Benoit Samuelson will be joined in Olympia by other women’s marathon qualifiers and a host of women distance running pioneers.
Capital City Marathon Race Director Nona Snell said, “Women runners around the world have benefited from the strength of those who ran in the trials here 35 years ago, and from the female athletes who preceded them.”
Laurel James, founder of Seattle’s iconic Super Jock ’n Jill retail store, who helped lead the effort to bring the trials event to Olympia—which was in competition with large venues such as New York and Los Angeles to win the historic bid—said the reunion is being held “not just to honor Joan Benoit Samuelson, but all of the women who qualified for the trials event.” She added, “They are all role models and examples for other women to set their sights high.”
Reunion festivities start Friday, May 17, with a luncheon co-hosted by the League of Women Voters of Thurston County, and by the American Association of University Women. Featured speaker will be two-time marathon world record holder and author, Jacqueline Hansen, also the women’s division winner of the Boston Marathon in 1973.
The luncheon will be followed by a youth-focused event featuring Joan Benoit Samuelson at Olympia High School (OHS). This event is geared for cross country teams and girls in athletics, and for those with interest in the history of women’s right to participate in athletics. OHS Principal Matt Grant said, “Students will hear from those who wrote the history book of women’s distance running in the United States. The theme of this historical program is about breaking barriers with inspiring female role models who shattered barriers. It’s an inspirational story, rooted right here in Olympia.”
Friday’s activities end with a news conference and a private, invitation-only reception at the State Capitol.
Events on Saturday, May 18, include appearances by Benoit Samuelson and other pioneer women runners appearing at the Capital City Marathon Run Fair at Sylvester Park and then over to a ceremony to rededicate the name of Marathon Park. Benoit Samuelson will also be a guest speaker at the Capital City Marathon Pre-Run Dinner at the Capitol Rotunda between 5-8 p.m. Seating is limited, and tickets will not be sold at the door. To register, visit the Capital City Marathon website, https://capitalcitymarathon.enmotive.com/events/register/2019-capital-city-marathon.
Sunday, May 19, Joan Benoit Samuelson will participate in one of the scheduled races. She will also participate at the awards ceremony following the marathon.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or a partner of The Olympic Trials Legacy Committee for hosting these events, please visit any branch of Olympia Federal Savings Bank.
Note to Media: To schedule an interview with one of the athletes, please contact Jacqueline Hansen via email at jqhansen@gmail.com. For information about any of the events, contact Denise Keegan at 360-497-1177.