Nina Kuscsik was the first "official" female participant in the Boston Marathon, finishing the marathon with a time of 3:10:26. She was not the first female to participate in the race, however; that distinction belongs to Roberta Gibb.[1] She was also the first woman to run in the New York City Marathon, the first female winner of the Boston Marathon and a two time winner of the New York City Marathon.[2] She is also known for her work in introducing changes in athletic rules to allow women to run the marathon distance in the United States and to hold US Championships. She also prepared and introduced resolution adopted by the USA and the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) to place the women's marathon in the Olympics.[2]
Kuscsik has also written articles for Runner's World, Women's and Fitness Magazines, and was a commentator for running events and training commentary with 1010 WINS and CBS Radio, New York.
History[]
Kuscsik began jogging in 1967 using Bill Bowerman's JOGGING book as a guide.[2] She started running competitively in 1969 when she entered the Boston Marathon as an unofficial entrant (see above), finishing in 3:46.
Notable Accomplishments[]
- Completed 80 marathons with a best time of 2:50:22.
- Set an American record for 50 miles in 1977 in 6:35:53.
- Represented the United States in international competition in Germany and Puerto Rico.
- Inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, 1999.
References[]
- ↑ Marathon Milestones. Boston Athletic Association (n.d.). Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 unknown (n.d.). Nina Kuscsik. DistanceRunning.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
| |||||