An
argument could be made that the 1984 USA Women’s Olympic Trials marathon race
was one of the most significant American female events ever. This crossroad’s
occurrence marked the demarcation of female participation in our country in the
sport of running. It wasn’t until 1984 that a women’s marathon was first permitted
in the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), a ‘good old boys
club’ at the ultimate level, previously felt that women were physically incapable
of handling the rigors of races of this distance. Through 1980, the longest
contested female event was the 1500 meters. However, a variety of factors had
coalesced to enable the woman’s marathon to now be added to the Olympic stage.
Every
four years some discussions arise as to how the American Olympic track and
field teams are selected. The US has what can be a very brutal and cruel system.
On the day of the Trials, the top three finishers in each event, if they have
met the Olympic standard, make the team. No politics or intrigue is involved. Only
the participants, on the track, field, or road, decide our team.
If
another selection system was used, as most other countries employ, it’s
doubtful that Julie Isphording would have been picked. Outside of the immediate
Greater Cincinnati area, relatively few people were aware of this young lady’s
potential and capabilities. Many others, starting with Joan Benoit, were much better
known and seemingly had superior credentials.
However, on May 12, 1984, the second Saturday of the month, in the
appropriately named capital city of Washington, Olympia, two Cincinnatians,
Karen Doppes Cosgrove and the 22-year old Julie Isphording, waited, with 236
other women, for the starter’s signal to release them on their way. Each of them had met the required time standard of 2:51:16
or better. Before three and a half hours had passed, when the last person crossed
the finish line, 195 of them could say that they had completed this historical race.
This contest was important because many
individuals feel that it sparked the women’s running boom of the 1980s that has
yet to abate. Women saw and felt that,
“Yes, they too could take to the roads just as men had been doing.” It is typical now for more than half of road race
fields, even the 2016 USA Olympic Track Team, to be composed of women.
How did Julie and her coach, Tom Grogan, confound the pundits and
gain that coveted third position? They assumed
that Joan Benoit and Julie Brown, if they ran to their capabilities, would take
the first two spots. After examining the
rest of the field, they developed a plan to try to run an even paced 2:30
(slightly faster than 5:45 per mile). If
they could do that, they felt that the remaining third Olympic position could
be had. Fortunately, two other highly
regarded runners, Julie Shea and Betty Jo Springs Geiger, who were accustomed
to running faster over shorter distances, committed the cardinal sin of
marathoners. They went out too fast too early and they suffered as a result. Each recorded a DNF (did not finish) behind
their name on the official results.
Julie approaching the finish line as she about to make the Olympic team.
Because of her more conservative approach, Julie was only in the
23rd position at mile ten. A
crowd was gathered at the Running Spot in O’Bryonville to watch the televised broadcast
of the competition. For a long time we
heard no mention of either Julie or Karen.
Then, well past the 20-mile mark, Julie’s name first came into
play. A cheer erupted from our
contingent. Steadily, she glided past
others to ultimately place third. Indeed,
the probable leaders occupied the first two positions. Joan Benoit (Samuelson) won the race with a time of
2:31:04. Later that summer she would add
the Olympic crown. Julie Brown was second (2:31:41) and Julie Isphording
claimed third (2:32:26). This trio formed
the first women’s Olympic marathon team in U.S. history. Karen finished 29th
with a time of 2:39:35.
Julie with her parents in Olympia
On the return flight from Washington a huge throng of well-
wishers congregated at the airport to congratulate both Karen and Julie. Celebrations
of Julie’s achievement continued. Her celebrity grew to the point that it
interfered with her preparation for the upcoming Olympics. Prophetically she
said at the time, “I don’t have a handle on the full thing yet. But I think my life is going to change.”
A beaming Julie as she leaves the airplane
Julie and Karen being congratulated
Jan Boylan, Victor Roth, Jim and Sheila Boland in the crowd
Dennis Jansen interviewing Julie
Karen with her son Ben
Suzanne Crable welcoming Karen
Unfortunately, the immediate sequel to her race in Olympia
did not go well. She developed
tendonitis in her right foot, which limited her training during the final month
prior to the Games. Grogan contacted
experts throughout the country for advice. There was consideration of getting a
cortisone injection but that also entailed a risk of creating a more serious
situation where Julie would be unable to run at all. After a thorough examination of all the
alternatives, they decided to forego any shots and hoped that Julie could
complete the race. Unfortunately, at mile 11 in Los Angeles the plantar
fasciitis injury forced her to drop out.
Of course this was a great disappointment, but still, qualifying for the
team was quite an achievement. Let’s view
some of the circumstances that led to her making the team in the first place.
The 1984 USA Women's Olympic Team
When Julie was born, no American female had officially
participated in a marathon. It wasn’t until 1967 that Kathrine Switzer first entered
and finished Boston. Meanwhile, Julie’s
sporting activities, while living in the Cincinnati suburb of Mt. Lookout,
centered on swimming and playing tennis.
She was good enough to be a top player for her high school team,
Ursuline Academy.
Normally,
when someone of her ability appears on the national stage one assumes that she
emerged through the high school and college channels of cross-country and track
and field. Julie’s introduction to running differed from the norm. By the late 1970s road races were popping up
everywhere and Julie followed this path exclusively. Running was also a means
to get in shape for tennis.
An older
friend of hers, Pete Wilton, was very enthusiastic about the sport and he introduced
Julie to the local running scene. He was very helpful during the first few
years of her running career. He would bring her to races and to Clifton Track
Club meetings.
Pete Wilton, friend of Julie
After only a few short weeks of running, she entered the April
29, 1979 Springer Sprint, a 5.5 mile race, which encircled the Lunken Airport
and Playfield. Pam Schroth, who was in the 20-29 division, finished 15 seconds
ahead of the 17-year old Julie Isphording, who was wearing her Lacoste shirt
and cotton shorts. This would be the last time Pam would ever place in front of
her. The third place woman trailed by
over three minutes.
In a later interview Julie said,
“I've always saved that trophy because it was the trophy of a
running man — they didn't even have women trophies — and because I was so
darned proud of myself.” The next time
she came into Phidippides, a running specialty store, Bob Roncker advised her to
exchange her old pair of $8.95 orange and yellow Pony discount shoes for a better model.
Julie in the first Springer Sprint at Lunken wearing her Lacoste shirt, cotton shorts, and orange and yellow Pony shoes
In
June the Diet Pepsi, 10,000 Meter Series arrived in Cincinnati. Bill Rodgers was the headliner for
Pepsi. This was a much larger race and
the competition among the women was more intense; Julie placed 10th. Almost three and a half minutes ahead of her,
in second place, was the 23-year old Karen Doppes Cosgrove. During the upcoming years, the Queen City had
these two gifted young women spurring each other to attain high levels of
achievement.
Julie
kept feeding the voracious ‘running bug’ by attending races on a regular
basis. Dick Morath of Kroger’s was the
force behind that year’s inaugural November 10k Esprit Yogurt Run. 1,193 runners crowded the street in front of
the Montgomery Shopping Center.
Start of first Esprit race. Now we know the secret to Lee Hildebrant's racing success.
Karen,
who work for and represented the Athlete’s Foot, won and Julie, now employed
part time at Phidippides, was third. However, now the margin between the two of
them was just shy of one minute.
Photo of Julie in the result program of the first Esprit 10k
Short note by Julie to her friend, Pete Wilton
The
first big local event of the 1980 road racing season was the 15k Heart
Mini-Marathon 3. Karen and Julie went
1-2 with Karen maintaining her superiority by finishing two and a half minutes
ahead (55:37 to 58:04). However,
something much larger, which would have a profound impact on each of them, was
taking place.
As mentioned
earlier, no exclusively female marathon existed in the Olympics. Kathrine Switzer, of Boston Marathon
boyfriend bumping Jock Semple fame, now worked for the Avon cosmetic
company. Kathrine and the company had a
plan and an agenda for getting the marathon included. In order to show the International Olympic Committee
members that female participation in distance events was worldwide and popular,
they created during the late 1970s and early 80’s a circuit of events called
the Avon International Racing Circuit.
This was a series of women’s only races with events in 25 countries on
five continents.
On
April 13, 1980 the series visited Cincinnati.
A 15k race occurred in Springdale near the Avon headquarters. For Cincinnati, this race was a big deal. Top
runners arrived from out of town. Clifton Track Club members assisted with the
organization of the race. A helicopter flew
overhead. During the race, the press truck maintained itself a short distance
in front of the lead runners so photographers and reporters could get all the
material that they needed. Their close
proximity came at the chagrin of one of the top female racers who publicly got the ‘runner’s trots’
(neither Julie or Karen). Karen tied for second and Julie placed fourth,
however the margin between them was 1:15, much less than what they differed
only three weeks earlier at the same distance in the Heart Mini.
Julie
returned to the scene of her first race. Her second Springer Sprint, only thirteen
months removed from when she began running, was almost five minutes faster than
the year before. She was 16th overall and the first female finisher.
At
the 5k Memorial Day Run, which began in Mt. Storm Park in Clifton, both Julie
and Karen broke the old course record; Julie trailed Karen by only 9 seconds. Later in June, at the Pepsi Series Race, Julie
improve 4:30 from the previous year and for the initial time she placed ahead
of Karen, if only by the margin of 33 seconds.
Julie and Karen after the race
Memorial Day Race Results
At
this time Julie began working and training with Karen, who was the manager, at
the Athlete’s Foot sports store that was located on Hyde Park Square. Their training together proved mutually
beneficial as they tied for first at the 10k Esprit Yogurt Run in a course
record performance of 35:12.4.
Photo in the second year result program. In one year she went from eating yogurt to holding hands in first place.
That
Thanksgiving Day Julie won the first of her eight Turkey Day races. Over the long history of the event no one has
won it as many times as she.
After
graduating from Ursuline Academy, she enrolled at Xavier University, where her
father Don was the bursar. Xavier had
neither a cross-country nor a track and field team for women at the time. With the help of Pete Wilton and the
Musketeer Club, an arrangement was made with the University where she would
wear a Xavier uniform at all the 1981 races, which she entered, in exchange for
a stipend for travel expenses.
Meanwhile,
the efforts by Avon were succeeding. In 1981 a nine-member group of the IOC
voted 8-1 to add the women’s marathon to the 1984 running schedule. Russia cast the dissenting vote. Women now had an Olympic marathon to strive
for. In an article in the May/June 1981 issue
of the Ohio Runner magazine Julie stated that her long-range goal was to make
the 1984 Olympic team in the marathon. This ambition, after only two years of
running, speaks to her determination and drive.
Tom Grogan was a local marathoner and coach. On weekends
he usually led a group 20-mile park run that linked Eden, Ault, and Alms Parks.
Julie started to meet up with them. As he became more aware of her, he recognized
her abundant talent, willingness to train hard, and erratic excessive racing
schedule. On a whim she entered her
first marathon (Columbus) and ran 2:47 for second place (behind Karen). To
quote Tom, “And she did it with no training schedule, no intervals, no
nothing.” He says witnessing this talent
drove him and other members of his group nuts.
Tom Grogan
Success
after success followed. She qualified
for the August 1981 Avon Ottawa Marathon. This was a major women’s only
marathon. At this point, based on a suggestion by Tom Hock, she asked Grogan to
help coach her. They had only nine weeks
to prepare for Ottawa and prepare they did!
She placed third behind runner-up Joan Benoit. Her time of 2:38:26 was a
world record for a teenager.
Julie (2nd from left) after the Ottawa Marathon. Joan Benoit is immediately to her left and Kathrine Switzer is on her far left.
It was
during this period that they developed an extended plan with the intent of
possibly making the 1984 Marathon Olympic Team.
She accelerated her undergraduate accounting studies to allow her to
graduate from XU in three years, in 1983, in order to allow her to train and
prepare full time for the 1984 Olympic Trials and Games.
Tom Grogan now serving as the coach for Julie
By
this time Julie was traveling and running throughout the country and in some
cases going overseas. However, before
entering the Trials, she had to get a qualifying time. Both she and Karen entered the October
16,1983 Columbus Marathon. Karen
finished slightly ahead of Julie for the first time in quite a while. Cosgrove’s
time of 2:39:32 placed her second in the race, as she became the initial local female
qualifier for the Marathon Olympic Trials. Julie followed closely in 2:39:56. With her qualification secure, she was off to
Orlando, Florida and the home of a friend, Judy Greer. For ten weeks she escaped
the harsh Ohio winter and secured a good training base of 100+ miles per week for
the Trials, which loomed only six months away.
After
the 1984 Olympics, while periodically injured, Julie continued racing at a high
level. She participated in the 1988 and
1992 Olympic Trials. Among her honors were winning the Columbus Marathon twice
and the 1990 Los Angeles Marathon, after recovering from back surgery. She was
selected to represent the USA in the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow by running
the marathon.
Since
retiring from racing, her professional career path has included a wide variety
of venues showcasing her talents. She
was a sports reporter for Channel 9 and served as a hostess for a radio talk
show on WVXU, which she started, that centered on running and other fitness
activities.
She was a marketing VP for Huntington Bank and has authored three
books. Her monthly column in the Hyde
Park Living magazine offers lifestyle healthy tips. P&G, Western Southern Insurance, and the
Barrett Cancer Center are organizations that she has consulted with. Currently she is director of the Thanksgiving
Day Race.
Her
Personal Bests are:
10,000 – 34:40.02 (1985)
Marathon – 2-30:54 (1989)
10,000 – 34:40.02 (1985)
Marathon – 2-30:54 (1989)
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