Cheryl Bridges, now Cheryl Treworgy, is an American former long-distance runner who once held the American and world record in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

, racing in the 1960s and 1970s. She was the first women runner to be on the cover of a running magazine.

Biography

Cheryl Bridges, nee Pedlow, was born December 25, 1947, in Indiana. She began her running career as a sophomore at North Central High School in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. In her senior year in high school, she competed in the national cross-country championships. In 1966, she became the first female athlete in the U.S. to receive an athletic scholarship to a public university,

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

, who did not have a women's program when Bridges enrolled. She graduated in three years with a degree in physical education. In 1969, she finished fourth in the

World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

in Scotland. She set the U.S. records in the 3 mile and 5,000 meter distances, after which she was coached by

Bill Dellinger William Solon Dellinger (born March 23, 1934) is a retired American middle-distance runner, and track and field and cross country coach. He competed in the 5,000 m at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1964, setting his p ...

. In 1971, she finished 3rd in the U.S. cross country championship. On December 7, 1971, Bridges ran her first marathon, finishing the Culver City Marathon in a then-world record time of 2:49:40, becoming the first woman to break 2:50:00 in the marathon. She was inducted into the Indiana Track and Cross Country Hall of Fame in 1983, the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984 and the

Road Runners Club of America Founded in 1958, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is the oldest and largest distance running organization in the United States with over 1,500 running club and event members representing 200,000 individual runners active in their running ...

Hall of Fame in 1987. She is the mother of

Shalane Flanagan Shalane Grace Flanagan (born July 8, 1981) is an American long-distance runner, coach, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area ...

.Schonbrun, Zach
"Shalane Flanagan Solves N.Y.C. Marathon for American Women"
''New York Times'', November 5, 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-05.

References

Living people American female long-distance runners Track and field athletes from Indiana 1947 births 21st-century American women 20th-century American sportswomen {{US-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub