Michelle Lilienthal is an American distance runner who specializes 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 ...

. She competed collegiately in cross country and track for the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. After graduating, she qualified for four consecutive U.S. Olympic Trials Marathons (2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020).

Early life

Lilienthal grew up in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

, and graduated from

Iowa City High School Iowa City High School is a public high school in Iowa City, Iowa and is part of the Iowa City Community School District. The present high school was completed as part of the Public Works Projects started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to pro ...

in 2000. She did not start running until her sophomore year but achieved immediate success, winning seven Iowa state championships in cross country and track over her high school career. She also qualified for the 1999 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship. At the University of Wisconsin, Lilienthal was an All-Big 10 honoree and competed for the Badgers at multiple NCAA Championships. She graduated in 2004 with a double major in Communications and Spanish.

Career

2005 - 2013

After graduating from college, Lilienthal moved to Philadelphia and placed third in the 2005

Philadelphia Marathon The Philadelphia Marathon (aka the Philadelphia Independence Marathon) is an annual marathon sporting event held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the third Sunday of November. The Philadelphia Marathon ranks among the top ten in the nation's large ...

. The following spring, she clocked a 2:40:23 time at the 2006

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

, which placed her second among American women and 16th overall. At the 2006

Twin Cities Marathon The Twin Cities Marathon is a marathon in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area which normally takes place the first weekend in October. The race is often called "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America" due to a course that winds through down ...

, Lilienthal dropped her time even further to 2:35:51, which qualified her for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon. In 2007 while living in Minneapolis and representing

Minnesota Distance Elite Minnesota Distance Elite, previously known as Team USA Minnesota, is a long-distance running team based in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The team is designed to support the running careers of post-collegiate athletes, supporting athletes from Mi ...

, Lilienthal placed third at the US Half Marathon Championships in Houston with a time of 1:12:46. At the 2008 US Olympic Trials in Boston, Lilienthal placed 85th of 148 women at 2:48:46. She had hopes of contending for the Olympic team heading into the 2012 Olympic Trials, but was sidelined with injuries and unable to compete. Lilienthal returned to action at the 2013

, placing fourth at 2:34:50, her personal best. The performance also qualified her for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles.

2014–present

She relocated to

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, in 2014 and won the Maine Women's division of the

Beach to Beacon 10K The TD Beach to Beacon 10K is a road running event that takes place along the coastline of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It begins at Crescent Beach State Park and ends at the Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park. Starting out as mainly a loc ...

. Her time of 33:40 is the fastest a Maine woman has ever run in the race. She repeated as Maine Champion in 2016 and 2018. In the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, Lilienthal was unable to finish on a hot and sunny day in Los Angeles. Over 25% of the women's field dropped out. Lilienthal placed 29th at the 2017

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...

in a time of 2:44:05, which qualified her for the

2020 United States Olympic Trials (marathon) The 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon was held on Saturday, February 29, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia to determine the American athletes who will compete in the marathon event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The race was hosted ...

in Atlanta. In the fall of 2019, Lilienthal gave birth to a son. She ran 65 to 75 miles per week into her third trimester of pregnancy. Lilienthal resumed training after her son was born, but did not have enough time to regain her usual fitness. She competed in the 2020 US Olympic Trials Marathon in February 2020, but dropped out near halfway.

Personal

Lilienthal lives in

, with her husband and son, and works as a consultant at

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

She was previously married to Minnesota politician

Jacob Frey Jacob Lawrence Frey ( ; born July 23, 1981) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota since 2018. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he served on the Minneapolis City ...

References

External links

World Athletics Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilienthal, Michelle Living people 1982 births American track and field athletes American female long-distance runners American female marathon runners Track and field athletes from Maine Track and field athletes from Iowa