Olympic runner visits Sisters

Marla Runyan signs a copy of her book "No Finish Line" at Sisters Athletic Club. photo by Charlie Kanzig

Marla Runyan, one of America's fastest distance runners, visited Sisters Athletic Club on Friday, December 12, to promote her book and talk about her life as an elite athlete.

Runyan, who lives and trains in Eugene, treated an audience of about 75 to over an hour of stories, training strategies, and philosophy. Her accomplishments include an eighth-place finish in the Olympic 1,500 meters in Sydney, track and road race 5,000 meter championships and top five finishes in the New York and Boston Marathons.

And she is legally blind.

She began to lose her sight at age nine to a type of macular degeneration called Stargardt's disease. Her peripheral vision is intact, but she cannot see much more than blurred colors and shapes in front of her.

"The media tends to dramatize my poor eyesight," she said. "They're often looking for an angle or some problem that my vision might cause."

Runyan doesn't dwell on her vision, but does acknowledge the challenges she faces. She is able to run on the road, track and some trails, but has a hard time with shadows and rough terrain.

As she says in the foreword of her book, "You just have to persist."

Runyan spoke to the audience in a very friendly, down-to-earth manner in relating her athletic history and the challenges she faces.

She began her track career at age nine and hated it at first.

"I'd run so hard that it hurt and I couldn't stand to lose," she said.

But she persisted and developed into a fairly successful high school high jumper and sprinter and went on to San Diego State University.

Over time, Runyan moved toward the heptathlon since she wasn't a top-notch athlete in any single event. As a junior in college she began competing in the seven-part event that includes javelin, shot put, 200 meters, hurdles, high jump, long jump and 800 meters.

"I discovered my strength as a runner in the 800 meters," she said. "Because I was so poor at the throwing events, I needed to make up points in the 800, which is the final event in the heptathlon, so I pushed myself to run faster and faster."

She finished her degree and eventually moved to Eugene to be coached toward building the stamina needed to run middle distances. She lowered her time in the 800 to 2:04 and requested to be entered in the 1999 Prefontaine Classic. Meet director Tom Jordan told her she wasn't fast enough, but offered to let her run the 1500 meters, the "metric mile," instead.

She agreed despite never having run that distance competitively, and her performance marked a turning point in her athletic career. She placed a solid fifth in 4:12 and went on to place fourth later in the summer at the U.S. National meet in 4:06, which qualified her for the World Championships in Spain. Her life as an elite athlete had begun.

A number of high school athletes from Sisters High School and from Summit High School, where Sisters Athletic Club Manager Tate Metcalf coaches track, attended the event.

"I just thought she was really nice," said Zoe Roy from Summit. "It's amazing how far she has come and it's cool that she has moved all the way up to marathons."

Sisters Middle School cross country coach and teacher Dave Glick was inspired by Runyan.

"She is a hero for all young kids," he said. "Her insights into running express a wealth of knowledge that she has gained through years and years of hard work and you could tell that she lives her life to the fullest despite her disability."

"She's an amazing woman and has a great life now," said Sisters High School senior Rikki Glick. "She runs, she eats, and she gets a massage!"

Rikki found Runyan to be surprisingly approachable.

"She was so easygoing it was like she was from our own community," she said.

She has some new Central Oregon fans who will cheer for her this summer as she chases her Olympic goal.