By: R.K. Barry
Grete Waitz died on Tuesday in Oslo at the age of 57. Cancer was the cause of death.
In the mid to late 70s I ran high school cross country and middle distances with consistent middle of the pack anonymity. Well, on good days I was in the middle of the pack. For several years after, I continued to run the occasional 5 or 10k and follow the sport to some extent.
Waitz was becoming a superstar amongst distance runners during this time particularly in the marathon. There were a number of articles in the paper and on websites and blogs today all speaking of her with great respect. All were similar in tone to remarks made by George Hirsch, chairman of the New York Road Runners, which, I believe, operates the New York City Marathon. He said that "every sport should have a true champion like Grete, a woman with such dignity and humanity and modesty."
Reading the obituary in the New York Times today, I was reminded of the incredible circumstances that led to her first marathon victory.
The story is that Waitz had never run a marathon before. Fred Lebow, the founder of the New York City Marathon, thought that she would be a good pacesetter for other runners because she was a world-record holder in the much shorter distance of the 3,000 meters in track. He invited her to participate hoping that she could help more seasoned marathoners achieve faster times.
For those who have never followed the sport, this means that she was supposed to begin very quickly while bringing the best runners along with her in the early stages of the race. It was thought likely that she would then either drop out or fade to the back after she had set a good pace while those who had trained at the longer distance continued on.
Apparently her role was not adequately explained to her because she continued running at a blazing pace, not only winning but setting a world record at 2 hours, 32 minutes and 30 seconds - two minutes faster than the previous record.
This is probably the best, at least the funniest, part:
When she ran the first New York race, she was such a neophyte that she and Jack (her husband) ate a most unusual dinner on the eve of the race: shrimp cocktail, filet mignon, baked potato and ice cream, with a bottle of red wine. Waitz later told the story that she felt as if she were flying through the first 16 miles, but the final 10 miles felt as if she had a bag of cement strapped to her back. She considered abandoning the race somewhere in the Bronx, but, as she recalled, "I didn't know where I was, and I had to get back to Jack." When she crossed the finish line, exhausted, and setting a world record, she took off her shoes, threw them at her husband and yelled at him, "I'll never to do this stupid thing again."
Do it again she did, as she went on to win a total of nine New York City Marathons and become a significant celebrity in her sport.
Grete Waitz was clearly a remarkable athlete with amazing skill but I can't help thinking that for the rest of us there is a lesson of some kind - perhaps that you might as well suit up and be in the metaphorical race because, no matter how little others may expect of you, you might surprise yourself and everyone around you.