Introduction:
The International Runners Committee formed in 1979 and consisted of
the “movers and shakers” in the running community, with the common goal of lobbying international governing federations to include women’s distance races in the Olympic Games program. Original members of the executive board included Joe Henderson, Jacqueline Hansen, Jeff Darman, Doris Brown Heritage, Nina Kuscsik, Leal-Ann Reinhart, Henley Gabeau, Tom Sturak, Joan Ullyot, Ken Young, Eleonora Mendonca (Brazil), Manfred Steffny (West Germany), Sarolta Monspart (Hungary), Lyn Billington (England), Arthur Lydiard (New Zealand) and Miki Gorman (Japan).
Today in 2023, World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF, International Amateur Athletics Federation), celebrated its 40th anniversary of World Championships. It originated in 1983 and was held at Helsinki, Finland in August of 1983. The lineup of the women’s events differed in a few critical ways. Today, the women have a full slate of events. In 1983 the longest track distance for women increased from 1500 meters to 3000 meters (but without steeplechase barriers like the men had). More significantly, off the track the marathon was added for the women for the first time in the history of the sport.
Also in 1983 the International Runners Committee announced an international class action lawsuit against the International Olympic Committee and all the governing bodies serving underneath the IOC. The suit was in response to the rejection of the two women’s distance events, 5000m and 10,000m when the marathon was accepted.
We held a press conference simultaneously in Helsinki at the meet, from a courthouse in Los Angeles, all aired on a morning TV show in the US.
If you want to read more about the International Runners Committee and the marathon, it’s in my book, with an excerpt here:
Chapter 19 “Making it Official”
If you want to read more about the lawsuit and quest for the 5000 and 10,000m, here is an excerpt from my book:
Chapter 20 “Pressing Our Case”
As the 40th anniversary approaches, interest grows in Joan Benoit Samuelson’s Olympic Marathon win. Here are some of the related publications which have come to my attention.
Very recently, author Stephen Lane published a book “Long Run to Glory: the story of the greatest marathon in Olympic history and the women who made it happen.” To quote him, “the race was more than a race; it was the culmination of a decades-long struggle . . .”
In 2022, author Peter McDonnell released on Audible “Miles to Go: the story of the first women’s marathon and the battle for the right to run.” McDonnell weaves the history into Joan’s story of her Olympic race. She even narrates a good portion of the story, as do key characters in the history.
