1.
Central Park
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Central Park is an urban park in Manhattan, New York City. Central Park is the most visited park in the United States, with 40 million visitors in 2013. The park was established in 1857 on 778 acres of city-owned land, construction began the same year and the parks first area was opened to the public in the winter of 1858. Construction continued during the American Civil War farther north, and was expanded to its current size of 843 acres in 1873, Central Park was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U. S. Department of the Interior in 1962. The Conservancy is a organization that contributes 75 percent of Central Parks $65 million annual budget and is responsible for all basic care of the 843-acre park. Between 1821 and 1855, New York City nearly quadrupled in population, as the city expanded northward up Manhattan, people were drawn to the few existing open spaces, mainly cemeteries, to get away from the noise and chaotic life in the city. Since Central Park was not part of the original Commissioners Plan of 1811, John Randel, Jr. surveyed the grounds. The only remaining surveying bolt from his survey is still visible, it is embedded in a rock just north of the present Dairy and the 65th Street Transverse, the bolt marks the location where West 65th Street would have intersected Sixth Avenue. The state appointed a Central Park Commission to oversee the development of the park, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux developed what came to be known as the Greensward Plan, which was selected as the winning design. The Greensward Plan called for some 36 bridges, all designed by Vaux, ranging from rugged spans of Manhattan schist or granite, to lacy Neo-Gothic cast iron, several influences came together in the design. Landscaped cemeteries, such as Mount Auburn and Green-Wood had set examples of idyllic, naturalistic landscapes, the most influential innovations in the Central Park design were the separate circulation systems for pedestrians, horseback riders, and pleasure vehicles. The crosstown commercial traffic was entirely concealed in sunken roadways, screened with densely planted shrub belts so as to maintain a rustic ambiance, before the construction of the park could start, the area had to be cleared of its inhabitants. Most lived in villages, such as Harsenville, the Piggery District, or Seneca Village, or in the school. Approximately 1,600 residents were evicted under the rule of eminent domain during 1857, Seneca Village and parts of the other communities were razed to make room for the park. During the parks construction, Olmsted fought constant battles with the park commissioners, between 1860 and 1873, most of the major hurdles to construction were overcome and the park was substantially completed. The work was documented with technical drawings and photographs. More gunpowder was used to clear the area than was used at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, the parks commissioners assigned a name to each of the original 18 gates in 1862. The names were chosen to represent the diversity of New York Citys trades, for example, Mariners Gate for the entrance at 85th Street
2.
New York City Marathon
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The New York City Marathon is an annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 50,304 finishers in 2013, along with the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, it is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the United States and is one of the World Marathon Majors. The race is organized by New York Road Runners Club and has run every year since 1970, with the exception of 2012. In past years, it has sponsored by the financial group ING. In 2014, Tata Consultancy Services, an information technology service, consulting. It is held on the first Sunday of November and attracts competitors and amateurs from all over the world. Because of the popularity of the race, participation is largely by a lottery system. Guaranteed entry to the marathon can be gained by meeting the requirements for the 9+1 or 9+$1K program, having completed 15 or more previous NYC Marathons, the race was founded by Fred Lebow. Ted Corbitt helped plan the deceptively hilly course of the New York City Marathon, the initial course of 1970 consisted in repeated racing around Central Park. From 1976, the covers all five boroughs of New York City. It begins on Staten Island, in Fort Wadsworth, near the approach to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the bridge, which normally carries only vehicular traffic, is closed for the event. Runners use both sides of the level of the bridge and the westbound side of the lower level. In the opening minutes of the race, the bridge is filled with runners, after descending the bridge, the course winds through Brooklyn, mostly along Fourth Avenue and Bedford Avenue, for approximately the next 11 miles. Runners pass through a variety of neighborhoods, including, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Park Slope, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Williamsburg, at 13.1 miles, runners cross the Pulaski Bridge, marking the halfway point of the race and the entrance into Long Island City, Queens. After about 2.5 miles in Queens, runners cross the East River via the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. It is at point in the race when many runners begin to tire. It then proceeds south through Harlem down Fifth Avenue and into Central Park, at the southern end of the park, the race proceeds across Central Park South, where thousands of spectators cheer runners on during the last mile. At Columbus Circle, the race re-enters the park and finishes outside Tavern on the Green, the time limit for this course is 8½ hours from the 10,10 a. m. start
3.
Arad, Romania
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Arad is the capital city of Arad County, historically situated in the region of Crișana, and having recently extended on the left bank of the Mureș river, in Banat region of western Romania. It had one of the first music conservatories in Europe, the city has a population of 159,704, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. Arad is the third largest city in the part of the country, behind Timișoara. Arad was first mentioned in documents in the 11th century, the Ottoman Empire conquered the region from Hungary in 1551 and kept it until the Peace of Karlowitz of 1699. Arad became a center, which comprised the sanjaks of Arad, Lugoj, Kacaș, Beşlek and Yanova from 1660 till 1697. After 1699, the city was ruled by the Habsburg Monarchy, at the beginning of 18th century, Arad became center of Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Arad. According to 1720 data, the population of the city was composed of 177 Romanian families,162 Serbian, the first Jew allowed to settle inside the city was Isac Elias in 1717. Eventually the Jewish population of Arad numbered over 10,000 people, more than 10% of the population, the new fortress was built between 1763 and 1783. Although it was small, it proved formidable having played a role in the Hungarian struggle for independence in 1849. The city possesses a museum containing relics of war of independence. It was from Arad that Lajos Kossuth issued his famous proclamation, the fortress was recaptured shortly after the surrender at Világos, with the surrender of general Artúr Görgey to the Russians. Thirteen rebel generals were executed there on 6 October 1849, by order of the Austrian general Julius Jacob von Haynau and these men are known collectively as the 13 Martyrs of Arad, and since then Arad is considered the Hungarian Golgotha. One of the public squares contains a monument, erected in their memory. It consists of a figure of Hungary, with four allegorical groups. Arad enjoyed great development in the 19th century. In 1834 it was declared a royal town by Emperor Francis I of Austria. Aradu Nou / Neu Arad / Újarad, situated on the bank of the Mureș river, is a neighborhood of Arad. It was founded during the Turkish wars of the 17th century, the works erected by the Turks for the capture of the fortress of Arad formed the nucleus of the new settlement
4.
John Lennon
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John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beatles, the most commercially successful and musically influential band in the history of popular music. He and fellow member Paul McCartney formed a songwriting partnership. Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the craze as a teenager, his first band, the Quarrymen, first became the Silver Beatles. After his marriage to Yoko Ono in 1969, he added Ono as one of his middle names, Lennon disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to raise his infant son Sean, but re-emerged with Ono in 1980 with the new album Double Fantasy. He was murdered three weeks after its release, Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing, drawings, on film and in interviews. By 2012, Lennons solo album sales in the United States exceeded 14 million and, as writer, co-writer, or performer, he is responsible for 25 number-one singles on the US Hot 100 chart. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth and, in 2008, Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth-greatest singer of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, in 1988 as a member of the Beatles and in 1994 as a solo artist. Lennon was born in war-time England, on 9 October 1940 at Liverpool Maternity Hospital, to Julia and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman of Irish descent and his parents named him John Winston Lennon after his paternal grandfather, John Jack Lennon, and then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill. When he eventually came home six months later, he offered to look after the family, after her sister, Mimi Smith, twice complained to Liverpools Social Services, Julia handed the care of Lennon over to her. In July 1946 Lennons father visited Smith and took his son to Blackpool, Julia followed them—with her partner at the time, Bobby Dykins—and after a heated argument his father forced the five-year-old to choose between them. Lennon twice chose his father, but as his mother walked away, he began to cry and followed her, according to author Mark Lewisohn, Lennons parents agreed that Julia should take him and give him a home as Alf left again. A witness who was there that day, Billy Hall, has said the scene often portrayed with a young John Lennon having to make a decision between his parents never happened. It would be 20 years before he had contact with his father again, Throughout the rest of his childhood and adolescence he lived at Mendips,251 Menlove Avenue, Woolton with his aunt and uncle, Mimi and George Smith, who had no children of their own. His aunt purchased volumes of stories for him, and his uncle. In September 1980, Lennon commented about his family and his rebellious nature, Part of me would like to be accepted by all facets of society, but I cannot be what I am not. I was the one who all the other boys parents—including Pauls father—would say, the parents instinctively recognised I was a troublemaker, meaning I did not conform and I would influence their children, which I did. I did my best to disrupt every friends home, partly out of envy that I didnt have this so-called home
5.
National Distance Running Hall of Fame
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The National Distance Running Hall of Fame was established on July 11,1998, to honor those who have contributed to the sport of distance running. Many of those who are inducted have achieved success as runners. The National Distance Running Hall of Fame is located in Utica, New York, inside the Hall are pictures, videos and other memorabilia that provide the history of the sport through the eyes of both the runners and spectators. The city of Utica was selected to be the home of the hall of fame because it hosts the annual Boilermaker Road Race—one of the largest 15 km road races in the US. Track and Field and distance running are sports that are heavily reliable upon sponsorship money, unfortunately some years come up much shorter than other years in terms of funding and donations to the sport, which can cause ripple effects throughout the whole sport. No induction ceremonies occurred in 2004,2007 and 2009, in 2007, it was due to the search for a new executive director, the 30th running of the Boilermaker Road Race, and construction to the Stanley Theater stage, which is where the ceremony takes place. In 2009, the economy caused too few sponsors to donate money for the event. With the inclusion of Grete Waitz and Priscilla Welch, the membership is not limited to Americans, both athletes represented other countries internationally, though they had an extensive running history in the United States
6.
Steve Prefontaine
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Steve Roland Pre Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner who competed in the 1972 Olympics. Prefontaine once held the American record in seven different distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters, Prefontaine died in May 1975 at the age of 24 in an automobile accident in Eugene, Oregon. The career of Steve Prefontaine, alongside Jim Ryun, Frank Shorter, and Bill Rodgers generated considerable media coverage, Prefontaine was often known for his mustache and his long locks of hair that parted as he ran. Prefontaine was born on January 25,1951, in the logging town of Coos Bay. His father, Raymond Prefontaine, was a carpenter and a welder after his time serving in the U. S. Army in World War II, steves mother, Elfriede, worked as a seamstress. The two returned to Coos Bay after Ray had met Elfriede in Germany while serving with the U. S. Army occupation forces and he had two sisters, Neta and Linda, and they all grew up in a house built by their father. Prefontaine was a person, even during his formative years. He was always moving around, partaking in different activities, in junior high, Prefontaine was on his school’s football and basketball teams, but was rarely allowed to play because of his short stature. In the eighth grade, he noticed several high school cross country team members jog to practice past the football field, later that year, he began to realize he was able to compete well in longer distance races in his physical education class during a three-week conditioning period. By the second week of the daily mile runs, Prefontaine was able to finish second in the group, with this new-found success, he fell in love with cross country. Prefontaines freshman and sophomore years were decent, and he managed a 5,01 mile personal best in his first year, though starting out as the seventh man, he progressed to be the second by the end of the year and placed 53rd in the State Championship. In his sophomore year, he failed to qualify for the meet in his event. However, his coach recalls that it was his sophomore year where his potential in the sport began to surface. With the advice of Walt McClure, Prefontaine’s high school coach and he went through his junior cross country season undefeated and won the state title. In his senior year, many of his highest goals were set. He obtained a record at the Corvallis Invitational with a time of 8,41.5, only one and a half seconds slower than his goal. He won two more State titles that year after another undefeated season in both the one and two mile distances, Prefontaine was recruited by 40 colleges across the nation, and he received numerous phone calls, letters, and drop-in visits from coaches. Prefontaine referred many of his calls to McClure, who wanted Prefontaine to attend the University of Oregon, McClure turned away those universities that began recruiting him late
7.
Johnny Hayes
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John Joseph Johnny Hayes was an American athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and winner of the marathon race at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Hayes Olympic victory contributed to the growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States. Born in New York City to a family of Irish emigrants, Hayes is one of only three male American athletes to win the Olympic Marathon. In 1905 he had joined Bloomingdale Brothers as an assistant to the manager of the goods department. At night he trained on a track on the roof of the Bloomingdales building in New York. He was promoted to manager of the department after returning from his Olympic victory, Hayes started his athletics career with a fifth-place finish at the 1906 Boston Marathon, running for the St. Bartholemew Athletic Club in a time of 2,55,38. He improved on that the year by finishing third in Boston with a time of 2,30,38. In 1908 he finished second,21 seconds behind Thomas Morrissey in the Boston Marathon with a time of 2,26,34 and thus qualified for the Olympic Games held in London that same year. The British Olympic Association wanted to start the race in front of Windsor Castle, as a result, the distance was 42 km and 195 m. It took until 1921 for the IAAF to codify that distance as the length of the marathon. Prior to this, races were usually about 25 miles, at the race itself, Dorando Pietri from Italy was the first to enter the stadium. But Pietri took a turn, collapsed, was helped up on his feet by doctors, wobbled. All of the Olympic officials were British, caught up in the drama of Pietris agony, the cheering crowd hardly noticed that he was declared the winner just as second place runner, Hayes, entered the stadium. Pietri was disqualified after the US officials filed a protest, saying Pietri had been aided, despite the official result, Pietri achieved much more fame than Hayes, when Queen Alexandra awarded him a special silver cup. After the dramatic Olympic battle between Pietri and Hayes, public interest was such that a race was organized by professional promoters in November,1908 at Madison Square Garden. The race was won by Pietri by 75 yards, a second match race was held on March 15,1909 and again Pietri won. Both Pietri and Hayes turned professional after the Olympics, and achieved great fame, Hayes was a trainer for the US1912 Olympic team. He later taught physical education and was a food broker, Johnny Hayes died in Englewood, New Jersey
8.
Billy Mills
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William Mervin Billy Mills, also known as Makata Taka Hela, is a Native American who won a gold medal in the Olympic Games. He accomplished this feat in the 10,000 meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and his 1964 victory is considered one of the greatest Olympic upsets, because he was a virtual unknown going into the event. A former United States Marine, Billy Mills is a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe, william Mervin Mills was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and was raised on the impoverished Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for Oglala Sioux people. His given native name, Makata Taka Hela, loosely means love your country and he was orphaned when he was twelve years old. Mills took up running while attending the Haskell Institute, which is now known as Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Mills was both a boxer and a runner in his youth, but he gave up boxing to focus on running. He attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship and he was named a NCAA All-America cross-country runner three times and in 1960 he won the individual title in the Big Eight cross-country championship. The University of Kansas track team won the 1959 and 1960 outdoor national championships while Mills was on the team, after graduating with a degree in physical education, Mills entered the United States Marine Corps. He was a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve when he competed in the 1964 Olympics, Mills qualified for the 1964 Summer Olympics on the U. S. Track and Field Team in the 10,000 meter and the marathon, the favorite in 1964 for the 10,000 m was Ron Clarke of Australia, who held the world record. The runners expected to him were defending champion Pyotr Bolotnikov of the Soviet Union, and Murray Halberg of New Zealand. He had finished second to Gerry Lindgren in the U. S. Olympic trials and his time in the heats was a full minute slower than Clarkes time. Clarke set the tone of the race and his tactic of surging every other lap appeared to be working. Halfway through the race, only four runners were still with Clarke, Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia, Kokichi Tsuburaya of Japan, Tsuburaya, the local favorite, lost contact first, then Wolde. With two laps to go, only two runners were still with Clarke, on paper, it seemed to be Clarkes race. He had run a record time of 28,15.6. Mills and Clarke were running together with Gammoudi right behind as they entered the final lap and they were lapping other runners, and Clarke was boxed in down the backstretch. He pushed Mills once, then again, then Gammoudi pushed them both and surged into the lead as they rounded the final curve. Clarke recovered and began chasing Gammoudi while Mills appeared to be too far back to be in contention, Clarke failed to catch Gammoudi, but Mills pulled out to lane 4 and sprinted past them both
9.
Find a Grave
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Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry. com, the worlds largest for-profit genealogy company, the site was created in 1995 by Salt Lake City resident Jim Tipton to support his hobby of visiting the burial sites of celebrities. He later added an online forum, Find a Grave was launched as a commercial entity in 1998, first as a trade name and then incorporated in 2000. The site later expanded to include graves of non-celebrities, in order to allow visitors to pay respect to their deceased relatives or friends. In 2013, Tipton sold Find a Grave to Ancestry. com, burial information is a wonderful source for people researching their family history. In a September 30,2013, press release, Ancestry, as of March 2017, Find a Grave contained over 159 million burial records and 75 million photos. The website contains listings of cemeteries and graves from around the world, american cemeteries are organized by state and county, and many cemetery records contain Google Maps and photographs of the cemeteries and gravesites. Individual grave records may contain dates and places of birth and death, biographical information, cemetery and plot information, photographs, Interment listings are added by individuals, genealogical societies, and other institutions such as the International Wargraves Photography Project. Contributors must register as members to submit listings, called memorials, the submitter becomes the manager of the listing but may transfer management. Only the current manager of a listing may edit it, although any member may use the features to send correction requests to the listings manager. Managers may add links to other listings of deceased spouses, parents, members may post requests for photos of a specific grave, these requests will be automatically sent to other members who have registered their location as being near that grave. Find a Grave also maintains lists of memorials of famous persons by their claim to fame, such as Medal of Honor recipients, religious figures, Find a Grave exercises editorial control over these listings. Canadian Headstones Interment. net National Cemetery Administrations Nationwide Gravesite Locator Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness Tombstone tourist Colker, web site answers grave concerns about stars. Web site attracts millions of grave-seekers, Find VIPs who R. I. P. through online cemetery. Genealogy, Find a Grave tremendous on many different levels, terre Haute, Indiana, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. Archived from the original on May 14,2011, tip, Find a Grave has info youre dying to know. Tracking Down Relatives, Visiting Graves Virtually, media related to Images from Find A Grave at Wikimedia Commons Official website
10.
Frank Shorter
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Frank Charles Shorter is an American former long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His Olympic successes, along with the achievements of other American runners, are credited with igniting the running boom in the United States during the 1970s. Frank Shorter was born in Munich, Germany, where his father, physician Samuel S. Shorter and he grew up in Middletown, New York, where a street was named in his honor. Frank Shorter Way was formerly part of the Orange Classic 10K course route, in the October 2011 issue of Runners World, an article by John Brant detailed the traumatic household life Frank and his siblings suffered at the hands of his father and the buckle end of his belt. While his father enjoyed great prominence in his community, his behavior may have reflected a profound narcissistic personality disorder according to Barbara duPlessis, Franks sister. With the publication of the Runners World article, Mr. Shorter will begin to elaborate on stopping similar cycles of violence in more detail, Shorter first achieved distinction by winning the 1969 National Collegiate Athletic Association 10, 000-meter title during his senior year at Yale. He won his first U. S. national titles in 1970 in the 5000-meter and 10 and he also was the U. S. national 10, 000-meter champion in 1971,1974,1975 and 1977. After graduating from Yale, Shorter chose to pursue a Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of New Mexico, however, he dropped out after six weeks. Bacheler was regarded as Americas best distance runner, having qualified for the finals of the 5, 000-meter race at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The FTCs core nucleus of Shorter, Bacheler and Jeff Galloway qualified for the 1972 Olympics, Shorter won the U. S. national cross-country championships four times. He was the U. S. Olympic Trials champion in both the 10, 000-meter run and the marathon in both 1972 and 1976 and he also won both the 10, 000-meter run and the marathon at the 1971 Pan American Games. Shorter was a winner of the Fukuoka Marathon, generally recognized as the most prestigious marathon in the world at that time. He was successful on the racing circuit as well, winning the Peachtree Road Race in 1977. Shorters greatest recognition was as a runner, and he is the only American athlete to win two medals in the Olympic marathon. He won the medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Shorter was confident that he was going to win the medal because he knew that no competing runner had passed him. He received the James E. Sullivan Award afterward as the top athlete in the United States. There were suspicions about other East German athletes during the Montreal Olympics, including the East German women, led by Kornelia Ender, from 2000 to 2003, Shorter was the chairman of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, a body that he helped to establish
11.
Clarence DeMar
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Clarence Harrison DeMar was a U. S. marathoner, winner of seven Boston Marathons, and Bronze medalist at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was known by the nickname Mr. DeMarathon, DeMar was born in Madeira, Ohio. The 1910 Boston marathon was DeMars first, he finished 2nd, later in 1910 he was advised by a doctor that he had a heart murmur and should stop running within a year or two. Nevertheless, he won in 2,21,39, a course record, although DeMar ran a few races after the Olympics, he soon took a break from serious competition. In June 1915 DeMar received an Associate of Arts degree from Harvard while working as a printer in the Boston area, DeMar resumed marathoning in 1917, finishing third in the Boston marathon despite training little, and then set a course record in the Brockton Fair marathon. Some time later he was drafted into the army, although he ran some races while in the army, DeMar did not return to serious competition until 1922, when he again won the Boston marathon in a course record 2,18,10. He repeated the victory in 1923 and 1924, in the latter year the full Olympic distance –26 miles,385 yards – was run. He was selected as one of the six runners on the U. S Olympic marathon team for the 1924 Summer Olympics, DeMar continued his success with a second-place finish at the 1925 Boston marathon, and a third-place finish the next year. He won at Boston again the year to secure a spot in the 1928 Summer Olympics. He would win one more Boston marathon, in 1930 at the age of 41, in 1929 DeMar married and took a job teaching printing and industrial history at Keene Normal School to secure a more stable income. He spent time at Camp Zakelo supervising the publication of the camp newspaper. In the fall of 1932 he began to work on a degree at Boston University. He ran, walked, and hitchhiked to Boston from Keene, New Hampshire, DeMar continued running until shortly before his death, running his last Boston marathon at age 65 and running a 15 kilometer race at age 69. He died of cancer at the age of 70, in 2000 he was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame. The Clarence DeMar marathon has been held in Keene annually since 1978 in his honor, list of winners of the Boston Marathon DeMar, Clarence H. Postcards written by Clarence DeMar from Running Past
12.
Grete Waitz
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Grete Waitz was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in two and a half hours. She won nine New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history and she won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and a gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. Her other marathon victories included winning the London Marathon in 1983 and 1986 and she was also a five-time winner of the World Cross Country Championships. Born Grete Andersen in Oslo, Norway, Waitz was a young runner. However, Waitz ran at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich in the 1500 metres, in her teen years, Waitz won national junior titles in Norway in the 400 and 800 metres. At age 17 she set the European junior record for 1500 m with a time of 4,17, in 1975 Waitz broke the 3000 metres world record, running 8,46.6 in Oslo. Two years later in Montreal she won a medal, also in Oslo. Her 4,00.55 career best in the 1500 m, set in Prague in 1978 and she went on to win the race nine times and broke the world record three years in a row. Besides her marathon victories in New York and the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Waitz also won the London Marathon in 1983 and 1986, the only significant award she did not win in her career was an Olympic victory. As an up-and-coming 19-year-old in Munich and then a 23-year-old running the 1500 m in Montreal, she competed, in 1980, Norway was one of the countries that decided to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, she was beaten in the marathon by Joan Benoit, in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, a bad knee forced her to drop out of the womens marathon just after passing the 18-mile mark. She won a medal in the marathon at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki. Waitz completed her last marathon on 1 November 1992 with her friend Fred Lebow, in celebration of Lebows 60th birthday, after he was diagnosed with brain cancer in early 1990, they both completed the New York City Marathon with a time of 5,32,35. 1500 metres –4,00.55 – Prague – 03/09/1978 One mile –4,26.90 – Gateshead – 09/07/19783000 metres –8,31 and she also did charity work, particularly for the CARE International and the International Special Olympics. In June 2005 it was known that she was undergoing treatment for cancer. For more than 25 years, Waitz served as the ambassador for the worldwide JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Series, promoting health and she provided regular training and motivational tips. Waitz was also a spokesperson for Avon Products, in August 2009 it was revealed that Waitz had initiated a co-operation between her old sponsor, Adidas, and the cancer care foundation she started in 2007 – Aktiv mot kreft
