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Excerpted
from First Marathons, by Gail Kislevitz
COOL CONTROLLED GRACE
Grete Waitz
Residence: Oslo, Norway
Occupation: Women’s Sports Consultant
First marathon: 1978 New York City Marathon
D.O.B.: 10-1-53
Age at first marathon: 25
The blonde with the pigtails stood at the front of
the pack in the 1978 New York City Marathon, not knowing what to expect. She had
never run a distance longer than twelve miles, but felt confident. This was to
be her last race before retirement. She not only won her first marathon, but set
a world record as well. Grete Waitz may have taken New York City completely by
surprise, but to those who knew of her incredible track accomplishments, her feat
wasn’t so shocking. By the seventies, Waitz was already a name to be reckoned
with on the international track and field circuit. In 1975, she ranked first in
the world at 1500 and 3000 meters, and earned her first of five world cross-country
titles in 1978. She set world records in the five-mile, 10K, 15K, 20K, and ten-mile
events. But it was the New York City Marathon that made her a household name in
the United States; she won it an unprecedented nine times, and beat her own ’78
world record with another world record time of 2:25:42, in 1980. Nowadays she
can be seen not at the starting line of races, but on the podium promoting the
event.
The first time I called the New York Road Runners Club to
get an invitation to the 1978 marathon, I was turned down. I had never run a marathon
before and when they asked for my records, I gave them my track and field accomplishments,
but it was all in short-distance events. I wasn’t terribly disappointed, but I
was looking forward to a holiday in New York with my husband. We couldn’t afford
the expense of such a trip and some of my Norwegian teammates had made the suggestion
to contact the club. I was getting ready to retire from my ten-year track career
and thought this would be a fun way to go out. After all the years of teaching
full time, training twice a day, and racing almost every weekend, I was tired.
The New York City Marathon was going to be my last race, but it didn’t seem as
if it was going to happen. Then I received an unexpected call from Fred Lebow,
the New York Road Runners Club president and race director, asking if I still
wanted to come. Fred was familiar with my European records and knew that I was
fast. Although he never thought I would complete the race, he needed a “rabbit,”
someone who would go out strong and set a fast pace for the elite women. With
that as his only premise for inviting me, Jack and I found ourselves on a flight
to New York City. For us, it was a second honeymoon. I didn’t think about the
marathon, had no idea how to prepare for one. I thought my longest run of twelve
miles would get me through. The night before the race, we treated ourselves to
a nice restaurant complete with a four-course meal of shrimp cocktail, filet mignon,
baked potato, red wine, and ice cream. The next morning, along with thirteen thousand
other runners, I stood at the front of the line, looked around, and didn’t know
a soul. At the start, I went out fast and continued that pace for quite a while.
In fact, I was having such a good time, I increased my speed. I was getting too
comfortable and after all, this was a race. By mile nineteen, though, I stopped
feeling so great. I knew my body had reached unknown territory, never having run
so far. My biggest problem was not being able to convert the miles to meters,
my measurement system. And since I didn’t speak English that well, I was too embarrassed
to ask where the heck I was. My quads were beginning to cramp so I decided to
try and drink water, but I had never experienced this quick form of drinking before
and kept spilling the water all over myself. It is definitely an acquired skill,
something to be practiced beforehand. I continued running strong, but having no
idea what mile I was on or where this place called Central Park was, I began to
get annoyed and frustrated. Every time I saw a patch of trees, I thought, “Oh,
this must be Central Park,” but no. To keep motivated, I started swearing at my
husband for getting me into this mess in the first place. I started sucking on
oranges for nourishment, since I had given up trying to drink anything. This was
definitely harder than any track course I had run. I knew I was out of my league
and hadn’t trained properly. Finally, exhausted and hurting, I crossed the finish
line. Immediately, I was swarmed by the media, pushing microphones and cameras
in my face. I didn’t understand what they were saying and tried to run away from
them. All I wanted to do was find Jack and go home. I didn’t like this marathon
racing.
The rest is history. I had no idea that day that I had set
a course and world record. In fact, I had registered so late that my entry number,
1173, wasn’t listed in the prerace entries. No one knew who the blonde girl in
pigtails was. To be suddenly a hero on a world basis was hard for me to understand.
I was a runner. That was my job. I was uncomfortable with all the fuss Americans
made over my victory. God gave me a gift and I had used it wisely since I was
a little girl. By the time I was twelve, I had participated in handball, gymnastics,
and track. I liked all sports, but running became my focus. My two older brothers
set a wonderful example for me and since we were always in friendly sibling competition
with one another and I tended to follow their training habits, other girls found
me tough to beat. That’s probably one of the reasons I made the 1972 Olympic team
at eighteen years old. I didn’t expect to set any records back then, just appreciated
being there and viewed it as a learning experience. Actually it was lots of fun.
I received free clothes, there was very little pressure, and it was like being
at camp for three weeks with my best friends. When I returned to the Olympics
in 1976, it was a different ball game. I now knew what to expect and, more seriously,
knew what was expected of me. The 1984 Olympics was a highlight in my career as
it was the first time women were allowed to compete in the marathon event and
I brought home a silver medal for Norway.
I always took my training very seriously, getting up at five
in the morning for my first workout of the day. Then it was off to my teaching
job and at the end of the day, back home for my evening run. I don’t like to cook
and spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, so I didn’t have to worry
about some of the household responsibilities. Jack has always been very supportive
of my running career. I was probably the first female athlete to realize the benefits
of twice-a-day training. I am a firm believer that track training is crucial to
any running program. It’s where you develop the speed. Distance makes you stronger,
not faster. If the training isn’t tough enough, it won’t work. I prefer to train
in the dark, cold winter months when it takes a stern attitude to get of bed before
dawn and head out the door to below-freezing weather conditions. Anyone can run
on a nice, warm, brisk day. That’s fun, but there’s no sense of sacrifice, no
great accomplishment. It takes strength, courage, commitment, and many days and
nights of sacrifice to win. Looking back on my career, and thinking that I almost
retired in 1978 except for that infamous New York City Marathon, I am glad I got
a shot at a second distance-running career. That’s where women’s focus seems to
be these days. I finally did retire in 1990 but only to start my third life’s
career, as a spokesperson for women’s sports. There is so much that still needs
to be learned about women in sports and, more important, getting the right information
out to women. When I was running back in the seventies, and was about twenty-three
years old, my period stopped. When I went to the doctor, he wasn’t concerned,
said don’t worry, it will come back. Now we know that amenorrhea (not menstruating)
is a serious condition. There are other things that affect women we are just learning
about. It is very important to keep this flow of new information circulating to
running clubs and women’s groups. Entry numbers are on the rise in road racing,
mostly due to the number of female applicants. Whether walking or running, slow
or fast, women are out there competing. When most people decide to start a running
program, they start up too fast and get discouraged. It is a big step from being
inactive to starting any form of exercise. I always suggest to walk first. Start
at a level that is comfortable and slowly increase from a walk to a jog to a run.
The first steps can be very intimidating. However, as long as you don’t have any
form of physical illness, your goals can be achieved. Novice runners often fail
to recognize how much a part of their training is dedicated to mental energy and
concentration. Those also have to be incorporated into the overall exercise program.
Two of my most memorable marathons were ones I didn’t win.
My 1992 run with Fred Lebow, in remission with brain cancer, was very emotional.
I didn’t think I could run for five hours, but he gave me the strength. It went
by so quickly. My other memorable moment was in 1993, when I promised Achilles
Marathon runner Zoe Koplowitz, crippled with multiple sclerosis, that I would
be there for her at the finish. It took her twenty-four hours to complete the
course and when she crossed the finish line at 6:30 a.m. the next morning, I was
there. No one had a medal for her, so I rushed back to my hotel to get my husband’s
medal for her. I don’t have half the struggles in life she does. It puts my own
life in perspective.
My two brothers and husband have carried on the New York
City Marathon tradition for me. One of my brothers has run it fourteen times.
Now I enjoy being part of the scene, watching my favorite marathon be a part of
running history.
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