Shows / Starting Line 1928
Starting Line 1928
Starting Line 1928 is an oral history project documenting the lived experiences of female distance running pioneers
Episodes
- Starting Line 1928
74 | Merry Lepper
Merry Lepper didn't exactly set out to be a running pioneer. But somewhere along the way, she became the first known woman to finish a road marathon in the…
- Starting Line 1928
73 | Mary V. Rosado
Growing up the eldest of ten in East Harlem, Mary V. Rosado learned early that she liked to be in charge, and she later brought that drive to running. She took…
- Starting Line 1928
72 | Dusty Rhodes
The Boston 10K for Women celebrates its 50 th anniversary this year, making it one of the oldest women's road races in the country. But in 1977, when founder…
- Starting Line 1928
71 | Mary Etta Boitano Blanchard
No one today would recommend that a six-year-old child run a marathon. In fact, most major marathon organizers set a minimum age limit of 18, primarily due to…
- Starting Line 1928
70 | Diane Hawkins
For Diane Hawkins, running began as a way to relieve stress from an intense career as an actress, but the sport became much more, opening doors and introducing…
- Starting Line 1928
69 | Bobbi Gibb
Bobbi Gibb didn't wait for permission—she changed history by stepping across a line she was never meant to cross. In 1966, when women weren't allowed to run…
- Starting Line 1928
68 | Ellen Wessel and Elizabeth Goeke
When Ellen Wessel and Elizabeth Goeke started running in the 1970s, they quickly realized the apparel available wasn't well suited to women's needs. Shorts…
- Starting Line 1928
67 | Jan Seeley
Jan Seeley is a modern Renaissance woman, succeeding in pursuits as wide-ranging as field hockey, running, writing, and race directing. She's been running for…
- Starting Line 1928
66 | Gordon Bakoulis
Gordon Bakoulis has built an impressive running résumé that includes: a five-time qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, finalist in the 1992 U.S…
- Starting Line 1928
65 | Lynn Blackstone
"I was just in the right place at the right time" is how Lynn Blackstone likes to color her participation in one of the pivotal events in the history of…
- Starting Line 1928
64 | Jeannie Rice
For those who follow masters running, Jeannie Rice's name often invokes awe and admiration. At age 77, Rice has more than 40 Masters titles in the U.S. At age…
- Starting Line 1928
63 | Jessica Dragičević Cassleman
Jessica Dragičević Cassleman grew up in Chile with British and Yugoslav roots. She found her way into elite athletics through community sports clubs…
- Starting Line 1928
62 | Helen Klein
Ultra-running legend Helen Klein turned 100 on November 27, 2022. A force of nature, she believes anything is possible if it is within your grasp. Few people…
- Starting Line 1928
61 | Tish Hamilton
If Tish Hamilton is being honest, she doesn't consider herself a pioneer in women's running. She looks at titans of the sport like Kathrine Switzer and…
- Starting Line 1928
60 | Anne Audain
Anne Audain is a three-time Olympian and former professional runner for New Zealand. She had success as a very young athlete, qualifying for the 1972 Munich…
- Starting Line 1928
59 | Eileen Waters Connolly
Eileen Waters Connolly was a trailblazer in American long-distance running, part of the first generation of women to compete in the sport. In 1972, she made…
- Starting Line 1928
58 | Deena Kastor
When you think about excellence in the marathon, the name Deena Kastor inevitably jumps to mind. After all, the 52-year-old held the American record in the…
- Starting Line 1928
57 | Arlene Pieper Stine
Long before Roberta Gibb and Sara Mae Berman unofficially ran the Boston Marathon (1966 and 1969 respectively), Arlene Pieper Stine became the first woman to…
- Starting Line 1928
56 | Yolanda Holder
Upon turning 50 years old, Yolanda Holder decided to do something different for her birthday. While others in her circle of family and friends opted for…
- Starting Line 1928
55 | Nina Kuscsik
Nina Kuscsik began running in the 1960s after discovering Bill Bowerman's Jogging while waiting for a bike tire repair. Born in Brooklyn in 1939, she was a…
- Starting Line 1928
54 | Lena Hollmann
Lena Hollmann began her running journey in Sweden, her native country. She started with the 800 meters until 1969, when women were allowed to run the 1500…
- Starting Line 1928
53 | Molly Barker
Molly Barker began running with her mother when she was 14 years old, when her mother was newly sober. Years later, it was on a run in 1993 when Molly herself…
- Starting Line 1928
52 | Kathrine Switzer
Say the name Kathrine Switzer and many people aren't sure who she is. Say, "the woman who was accosted during the 1967 Boston Marathon because she was running…
- Starting Line 1928
51 | Marge Hickman
Marge Hickman can't sit still. If she's not running, she's hiking, driving around the country in her RV, or engaging in another form of movement. Since she was…
- Starting Line 1928
50 | Women's Running Stories: Jen Kanyugi
This month, we're bringing you something a little bit different in this feed: an episode of Women's Running Stories, a podcast hosted by Cherie Louise Turner…
- Starting Line 1928
49 | Henley Gabeau
In the mid-1970s, Henley Gabeau didn't set out to become an accomplished distance runner. Instead, her athletic journey started as a simple desire to keep up…
- Starting Line 1928
48 | Dr. Joan Ullyot
Dr. Joan Ullyot, the "fastest physician marathon runner," paved the way for women runners across the world, proving by example that women should not be counted…
- Starting Line 1928
47 | Sara Mae Berman
In 1969, 32-year-old Sara Mae Berman was the first woman to cross the finish line in the Boston Marathon. She did it again in 1970 and 1971. But women weren't…
- Starting Line 1928
46 | Jessica Louis, Amber Henderson, Angel Tadytin, and Birdie Wermy
Native people, including women, have been running over these lands since long before anyone organized a major marathon. Yet all too often, with notable…
- Starting Line 1928
45 | Junko Kazukawa
Junko Kazukawa is a Japanese-born women's ultra running pioneer best known for having finished the Leadville 100-mile race 10 times. Junko is a two-time breast…
- Starting Line 1928
44 | Doris Brown Heritage
Doris Brown Heritage has always had a need to run. During a career that spanned roughly twenty years, Brown Heritage held every woman's national and world…
- Starting Line 1928
43 | Laurel James
"Life is a challenge. And if you can't enjoy that, you're in trouble." Laurel James, founder of the Seattle-based running retailer Super Jock 'n Jill and…
- Starting Line 1928
42 | Sue Parks
Sue Parks has had a storied career as an athlete and coach who continues to break barriers in the NCAA. Today, Sue is the director of cross-country and track…
- Starting Line 1928
41 | Patti Catalano Dillon
In 1980, Patti Catalano (now Patti Catalano Dillon) became the first American woman to break 2:30 in the marathon. She has held American and world records at…
- Starting Line 1928
40 | Janet Romayko
Janet Romayko is a veteran of 49 marathons and countless triathlons including the half Ironman distance. But what she is most thrilled with is her 50…
- Starting Line 1928
39 | Cheryl Toussaint
Cheryl Toussaint is the meet director of the Colgate Women's Games and an Olympic silver medalist She grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and began…
- Starting Line 1928
38 | Francie Larrieu Smith
Francie Larrieu Smith was the youngest woman 1500-meter runner and the oldest woman in any track and field event the U.S. ever sent to the Olympics. Her…
- Starting Line 1928
37 | Krystine Beneke
Krystine Beneke started her athletic career at a very young age, dancing for the Houston Ballet Academy in Houston. Simultaneously, she began running with her…
- Starting Line 1928
36 | PattiSue Plumer (part 2)
This week, we bring you the second part of the story of Olympian PattiSue Plumer— a professional distance runner in the late 80s and early 90s. PattiSue was a…
- Starting Line 1928
35 | Janet Cain
Janet Cain is a former USA Track & Field National Marathon Champion in both the 55-59 and 60-64 age group. She set a Napa Valley Marathon record for that…
- Starting Line 1928
34 | Lou Peyton
Lou Peyton was one of the first women to complete the Grand Slam of ultrarunning, completing four 100-mile races in the summer of 1989. And in fact, she went…
- Starting Line 1928
33 | Julia Chase-Brand
On Thanksgiving Day 1961, at 19 years old, Julia Chase-Brand turned heads when she defied the orders of the Amateur Athletic Union and entered and completed…
- Starting Line 1928
32 | Ingrid Walters
Running was not Ingrid Walters' first love. Nor was it her second, or her third. She didn't run in earnest until she turned 41, at which point she immediately…
- Starting Line 1928
31 | Toshiko D'Elia
Toshiko d'Elia, the first female in the world to run a sub-three-hour marathon at age 50, took up running at the age of 40 to become a better mountain climber…
- Starting Line 1928
30 | Sika Henry
Sika Henry has made a name for herself in triathlon and in running. She became the first African American woman to qualify for her pro card in triathlon in…
- Starting Line 1928
29 | PattiSue Plumer (part 1)
PattiSue Plumer, now the women's cross country and distance coach at the University of Texas, was a professional distance runner in the late 80s and early 90s…
- Starting Line 1928
28 | Amy Begley
Amy Begley started running at age 10, and nearly immediately set a goal of reaching the Olympics. After 20 years of hard work, she succeeded, coming in third…
- Starting Line 1928
27 | Erika Kemp
Erika Kemp didn't start running until her freshman year of high school, and went on to attend North Carolina State University; afterward, she trained with…
- Starting Line 1928
26 | Mary Wittenberg
Mary Wittenberg's successes include being the first female CEO and president of a major sports organization, New York Road Runners; fighting for equal pay for…
- Starting Line 1928
25 | Eileen Claugus
Eileen Claugus grew up in the Sacramento, California area, where she remains somewhat of a local running celebrity to this day. Claugus remembers competing in…
- Starting Line 1928
24 | Marie Mulder
Marie Mulder's running career was brief but triumphant—she started in the sport just before her 14th birthday, when a local coach recruited her. The next year…
- Starting Line 1928
23 | Chris McKenzie
Chris McKenzie was born in London in 1931, and was diagnosed at a young age with a serious bone infection that required her to wear a brace. While she was…
- Starting Line 1928
22 | Grace Butcher
As a child in Chardon, Ohio, Butcher realized she was fast at a young age. In ninth grade, she learned about track and field as a sport that was only available…
- Starting Line 1928
21 | Randi Bromka Young
Randi Bromka Young can pinpoint the moment her running career started: She woke up one day when she was 31 and ran as far as she could from her house. She only…
- Starting Line 1928
20 | Sally Edwards
Sally "Sal" Edwards is no stranger to being at the front of endurance races and the forefront of revolutions in running retail and exercise physiology. She…
- Starting Line 1928
19 | Cheryl Treworgy
In December 1971, Cheryl Bridges (now Cheryl Treworgy) became the first woman in the world to break 2:50 in the marathon. Treworgy decided to try running in…
- Starting Line 1928
18 | Women's Running Stories:
To finish out the year, we're bringing you something a little bit different in this feed: an episode of Women's Running Stories, a podcast hosted by Cherie…
- Starting Line 1928
17 | Karen Troianello
In 1979, standout 800-meter runner Karen Troianello (Blair) joined a group of women student-athletes and coaches in a lawsuit against Washington State…
- Starting Line 1928
16 | Michele Cuke
Michele Cuke's first racing success came at age ten when she won a 600-meter race sponsored by her church. She went on to become one of California's top high…
- Starting Line 1928
15 | Patricia Barrett
1972 was a banner year for American women in athletics, and Patricia Barrett, a high schooler from New Jersey, was at the center of many of the milestones. In…