Julie Shea (born 3 May 1959) is a former American

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

and politician.

Early life

While at Cardinal Gibbons High School in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, she was the first ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

'' "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1977 Her national record for female high-school mile was unbroken until 2012, when Wesley Frazier beat it.

College career

At her time at

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

lead the cross country team to two national titles, won two individual cross country championships, and won 5 individual Track and Field titles. While in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

she became, in 1980 and 1981, the only female athlete honored with the Anthony J. McKevlin Award noting athlete of the year in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. (In 1990, the award began to be awarded only to male athletes and a separate award was started to honor women.)NCPrepTrack.com . . . Julie Shea (Cardinal Gibbons HS, Raleigh, NC)
/ref> In 1980, she won the Broderick Award (now the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

) as the nation's best female collegiate track and field athlete and the same award for cross country in 1981. In addition, she was awarded the Broderick Cup, given to the nation's best female collegiate athlete. In 1993 Shea was inducted into the

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archi ...

and in 2012 she was part of the inaugural class of the

NC State Athletic Hall of Fame The NC State Athletic Hall of Fame is a sports history museum located in Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. The museum pays tribute to the most legendary and influential NC State Wolfpack sports heroes. Although the inaugural cla ...

Notable marathoning achievements

* All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise

Post college

In the 1990s, Shea was thrice elected to

Raleigh City Council Raleigh City Council is the governing body for the city of Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is border ...

. She currently coaches CoolKidsRun in Raleigh.

References

Raleigh City Council members Cardinal Gibbons High School (North Carolina) alumni Track and field athletes from North Carolina Living people North Carolina State University alumni 1959 births Women city councillors in North Carolina NC State Wolfpack women's track and field athletes NC State Wolfpack women's cross country runners American female track and field athletes 20th-century American sportswomen {{US-athletics-bio-stub