Miki Gorman was one of the first women marathoners that I knew about.
We would read about her exploits in the pages of Runners’World and then, The Runner.
Miki won the Boston in 1977, New York in 1976 and 1977. She was the pocket rocket of the first marathon movement including women.
Roger Robinson’s thoughtful tribute (please read below) gives a glimpse of how impressive Miki Gorman was: a tiny women, she was powerful and fast.
A women’s marathon pioneer? Quite simply, yes.
And as Roger noted so well, if the women’s marathon had been held in 1976, Miki Gorman would have been an odds on favorite for a medal.
Please keep Miki Gorman, who died at the age of 80 on September 19, in your thoughts and prayers.
Miki Gorman, Women’s Marathon Pioneer, Dies at 80
Boston and New York City winner was a key figure in the early days of big-city marathons.
Miki (Michiko) Gorman, a pioneer woman marathon runner of the 1970s, died on September 19 in Bellingham, Washington, at age 80 after a five-year battle with cancer. Gorman’s daughter, Danielle Mika, announced her mother’s death in a blog post on October 6.
Gorman, a Japanese-born American, won the Boston and New York Citymarathons in the mid-1970s, playing an important role in keeping American runners and races at the forefront of the newly established women’s marathon. She set the world’s fastest time by a woman in a certified marathon race in 1973 (2:46:36), and a world best for the half marathon in 1978 (1:15:58). In 1976, she also ran what was then history’s second-fastest marathon time, 2:39:11, which was her personal record.
To read the entire tribute, please go to: http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/miki-gorman-womens-marathon-pioneer-dies-at-80
I had no idea that she passed. I hope she realized what an inspiration she was to many. God Bless!