Marla Runyan
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Marla
Runyan at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials. |
(Last Updated 9/00)
Move over, Jackie Joyner Kersee... Marla Runyan could give you a run for your money in the "World's Greatest Athlete" category.
Though the enormous amount of media attention that Marla Runyan receives tends to focus on the fact that she is legally blind, perhaps equally impressive is the fact that over the course of just a few years, Runyan went from being a national-class heptathlete to being an Olympian at 1,500m.
Growing up in California, Runyan participating in several sports, including gymnastics, swimming, running and soccer. At age nine, she began to have problems with her vision, realizing that she was unable to see the chalkboard at school. Several months later, she was diagnosed with a form of macular degeneration called Stargardt's Disease, which left her legally blind. Her condition stabilized by the age of 13, but she stopped playing soccer when she could no longer see the ball, and focused on track & field instead.
As a highschooler, Runyan participated in the high jump, clearing a solid 5-7, and moving on to San Diego State. Her coach, Rahn Sheffield noticed Runyan's untapped talent in the sprints, eventually the two decided that she should switch to the seven-event heptathlon. Runyan excelled at the heptathlon, finishing ninth at the 1995 U.S. Championships and 10th at the 1996 Olympic Trials.
In the 800m, her final event of the heptathlon at the 1996 Trials, Runyan pulled out a 2:04.70 in the 800m, to set a U.S. heptathlon 800m record. As she walked off the track, legendary Wisconsin coach, Peter Tegen commented that she should focus on middle distance running -- that she could be good.
Realizing that there might be something there, Runyan decided to move to Eugene, Oregon and focus on the middle distances, but first, she had to undergo knee surgery to fix an injury she suffered in her heptathlon training. This was followed by several other injuries, culminating in foot surgery. In mid 1998, Runyan met Matt Lonergan, a marathoner and athletic trainer studying massage therapy. They started dating and he helped her get her training back on track.
In 1999, Marla Runyan burst onto the U.S. distance running scene a new woman. Thirty-five pounds lighter than her heptathlon days, Runyan had transformed herself into a top middle-distance runner. She finished fourth at the U.S. Championships in the 1,500m and qualified for the World Championships, where she finished 10th. She ran PRs of 2:03.18 (800m) and 4:05.27 (1,500m).
In 2000, Runyan won the U.S. Indoor Championships at 3,000m (9:01.29) and ran an impressive 15:07.66 for 5,000m. Despite suffering a knee injury and missing five weeks of training leading up to the U.S. Olympic Trials, Runyan fought her way onto the team, finishing third in 4:06.44. At the Games, Runyan managed to sneak into the final where she finished a very respectable eighth in 4:08.30.
At age 31, Marla Runyan's running career is just getting started. Her 5,000m time indicates enormous potential at that distance. Her main nemesis over the years has been injuries, but if she can stay healthy, she could be a strong contender for years. And even if she never becomes the fastest middle distance/distance runner in the world, she's certainly the fastest distance runner who can jump 5-10.75.
Runyan refuses to let her lack of vision become a disability. On the track, she tells competitors apart by their body shapes, hairstyles and uniform colors. She catn't see the lap clock, but instead concentrates on positioning and pace. "I don't consider it to be any sort of disability on the track," says Marla. "Honestly, I don't think of it at all. It's a condition I've had for so many years, that as far as I'm concerned, the way the track looks to me is the way the track looks to everybody else."
Stats
Birthdate: 1/4/69 (Santa Maria,
CA)
High School: Camarillo High School, Camarillo, CA (1987)
College: San Diego State (1991), Education of the Deaf
Height: 5-7
Current Residence: Eugene, OR
Links
The
Official Web Site - including a Diary,
News Links,
General
Info and Vision
Info
USATF
Bio (2000)
NBCOlympics.com
Bio
NBCOlympics.com Feature
"I can see
the finish line" - Newsweek
Runyan
goes from Paralympic champ to Olympian - Sportsline.com
Feat
of a Champ - Salt Lake Tribune
Goals
in sight - LA Times
A Brief Chat from Runner's World Online: July
1999
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