THIRTY: The Last American Female Champion Of the Boston Marathon (English Edition)

As of April 2015, for the past 30 years, Lisa Larsen Rainsberger has held the title of the last American Female Champion of the Boston Marathon, the oldest and most iconic U.S. marathon. At the time, Rainsberger was a 23-year-old American distance runner who won on one of the hottest days recorded. Join Rainsberger step-by-step as she wills herself through the last 3 miles of the 1985 Boston Marathon and becomes an American legend. Read about how Rainsberger’s confidence and determination spurred her to return two different college scholarships in order to compete in the 1984 inaugural Women's Olympic Trials Marathon. Learn something new about the Boston Marathon, whose history both reflects and influences how we think about running today. A three-time All-American at the University of Michigan, Rainsberger is a member of the University of Michigan Track and Field and Road Runners of America Halls of Fame. Her marathon times were among the top ten in the US in 1984 and 1987-1994. In 1985 and 1989, she was twice named USATF Runner of the Year. As of 2008, she was listed four times in the top 100 all-time US women's marathon performances, with a best time of 2:28:15 at the 1989 Chicago Marathon. In 1989, Runner’s World named her Runner of the Year. She retired in 1998 as a professional triathlete. In 2014, Competitor.com magazine ranked her as the sixth top American marathoner of all time.