CrossFit Boston

"I've never been really scientific about my training.  I've never worn a heart monitor.  I just go out and run the way I feel, and a lot of my training partners and friends think I'm crazy for running hard all the time and training.  But if I feel strong I run hard.  If I don't I don't, and that's the way I operate."

-Joan Benoit Samuelson

Joan Benoit Samuelson is marathon runner.  She won the gold medal in the women's marathon in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.  Before that year there was no women's marathon in the Olympics.  The longest women's Olympic running distance up until then was 1500m (just under a mile).  Apparently some men that organized the event were afraid that the distance would be too grueling for women.  Others were concerned that women who trained to compete at long distances would no longer be able to bear children.

Samuelson ran the race in 2:24.52 in the heat and smog of summer in L.A.  Her time was fast enough to win 23 of the 30 previous men's Olympic marathons.  Only six women did not finish the race that day, the best completion rate of any Olympic marathon.  (Gabriela Anderson Schiess from Switzerland dragged herself toward the finish line for the last 400m.  Although she finished in 37th place, she became a symbol of courage for many.)

Last week (November 1st) at the age of 52 Joan Benoit Samuelson ran the New York Marathon in 2:49.09, setting a new record for the 50+ division.  She finished 17th overall.  I guess that she was feeling strong and ran hard, the same way that she trains.  She is a woman who listens to her heart... not a heart monitor.