Friday, September 23, 2005
Race
My hero is a heroine. Her name is Rosie.
The first of her great deeds was performed late in 1979. To this day it is unappreciated.
To end a marathon and hardly be sweating is an achievement in itself. To cross the finish line in 2:56:29, the 11th woman overall, is certainly a remarkable feat. And to do it in so unconventional manner beggars the imagination.
In a marathon, every minute is precious. So to spend so many of them seated in a subway car must evoke our awestruck admiration.
Her New York performance was sufficiently impressive to earn her entry into the Boston Marathon early in 1980. Here she outdid herself and was the first woman to cross the finish line.
Now you must understand that Rosie was not part of the close-knit racing community, so it was not unexpected that course officials claimed to have no evidence of Rosie crossing checkpoints along the way, and competitors said that they had no recollection of her during the race.
Soon even some spectators were found who claimed to have seen her join the race about ½ mile from the finish. We all know how unreliable eye-witnesses can be.
So Rosie was stripped of her laurel crown, and the glories of her racing career were cast into permanent shadow.
Nonetheless, Rosie remains my hero - or should that be heroine?
The first of her great deeds was performed late in 1979. To this day it is unappreciated.
To end a marathon and hardly be sweating is an achievement in itself. To cross the finish line in 2:56:29, the 11th woman overall, is certainly a remarkable feat. And to do it in so unconventional manner beggars the imagination.
In a marathon, every minute is precious. So to spend so many of them seated in a subway car must evoke our awestruck admiration.
Her New York performance was sufficiently impressive to earn her entry into the Boston Marathon early in 1980. Here she outdid herself and was the first woman to cross the finish line.
Now you must understand that Rosie was not part of the close-knit racing community, so it was not unexpected that course officials claimed to have no evidence of Rosie crossing checkpoints along the way, and competitors said that they had no recollection of her during the race.
Soon even some spectators were found who claimed to have seen her join the race about ½ mile from the finish. We all know how unreliable eye-witnesses can be.
So Rosie was stripped of her laurel crown, and the glories of her racing career were cast into permanent shadow.
Nonetheless, Rosie remains my hero - or should that be heroine?
