Joan Benoit Samuelson '79 Sets NYC Marathon Record

Story posted November 02, 2009

Joan Benoit Samuelson '79 has done it again. The 1984 Olympic gold medalist and two-time Boston Marathon winner set a record Sunday, November 1, 2009, when she ran the New York City Marathon in 2 hours, 49 minutes and 9 seconds, breaking the 50-plus division record of 2:53:53 set by S. Rae Baymiller in 1993.

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Joan Benoit '79 was a senior at the College when, wearing a Bowdoin singlet and a Red Sox cap, she crossed the finish line, winning the 1979 Boston Marathon in what was then a women's course-record of 2:35:15.

"I'm delighted to be back," Samuelson told the Associated Press, upon finishing her fifth NYC Marathon.

AP reports that Samuelson, who is 52, ran to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her gold medal in the first women's Olympic marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of her first marathon — Samuelson's record-breaking win at the 1979 Boston Marathon.

Samuelson, a member of the College's board of trustees, has become an advocate for environmental and health issues, calling herself "a human barometer" having logged 140,000 miles in her career.

The NYC Marathon used recyclable cups along the route, and the cardboard and plastic from the fluid stations were to be recycled.

Read the article.

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