Marianne Dickerson (November 14, 1960 – October 14, 2015) was an 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 ...

Personal life

Dickerson was born in St. Joseph, Illinois.

NCAA

She was a star runner first at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, then at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

after a stint on a track scholarship to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. (She earned a bachelor's in general engineering from the University of Illinois and a master's in industrial engineering from the University of Michigan). November, 1980: UI cross country's Marianne Dickerson placed first at the AIAW state meet.November 1982: In the first-ever Big Ten women's cross country championship meet, Marianne Dickerson earned first-team All-Big Ten honors with a sixth-place finish. in 1983 after also earning

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n status in the 10,000m, placing third, at NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Professional

Against the advice of her coach, she entered a Missouri race, a portion of the inaugural Avon Marathon series. Winning the race qualified her for the series championship in Los Angeles, where she placed second behind

Julie Brown Julie Ann Brown (born August 31, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, musician, writer, and director. Early life Brown was born in Van Nuys, California, the daughter of Celia Jane (née McCann) and Leonard Francis Brown. Her father worked ...

. That race served as the qualifier to the World Championships. She was a surprise to take the silver medal at the 1983 World Championships in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki () is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipality, with million in the capital region and ...

. While

Grete Waitz Grete Waitz (, 1 October 195319 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz ...

was a clear winner, Dickerson was in fourth place behind

Rosa Mota Rosa Maria Correia dos Santos Mota, GCIH, GCM (; born 29 June 1958) is a Portuguese former marathon runner, one of her country's foremost athletes, being the first sportswoman from Portugal to win Olympic gold. Mota was the first woman to win ...

and Raisa Smekhnova, that group having already dispatched stars Joyce Smith, Laura Fogli and

Christa Vahlensieck Christa Vahlensieck (née Kofferschläger; born 27 May 1949) is a German former long distance runner and pioneer in the marathon for women. During her running career, from 1973 to 1989, she simultaneously achieved a world record in the 10,000 metr ...

. Dickerson passed Mota outside the stadium then surged to dramatically beat Smekhnova (a sub-4 minute 1500m runner) on the track inside the stadium. Injuries prevented her from competing in the 1984 Olympic Trials. She qualified for the 1988 trials by winning the Baltimore Marathon, but faded in the middle of those trials. After getting her degree in Engineering, she went to the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. In 2015, she returned to her alma-mater high school as an assistant coach before her death.

Achievements

*All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, Marianne 1960 births 2015 deaths American female long-distance runners People from Champaign County, Illinois Illinois Fighting Illini women's track and field athletes Grainger College of Engineering alumni World Athletics Championships medalists University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni Harvard Business School alumni World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States 20th-century American sportswomen Michigan Wolverines women's track and field athletes Illinois Fighting Illini women's cross country runners