Distance giant Miki Gorman dies at 80; Hall of Famer, world champ

Miki at 5 feet tall and 89 pounds was a giant of the sport.

Miki at 5 feet tall and 89 pounds was the class of WAVA’s 1979 Hanover worlds.

Miki Gorman, a member of the inaugural 1996 Class of the USATF Masters Hall of Fame, died Sept. 19 in Bellingham, Washington, her daughter reported Tuesday in a blog post. She was 80. Miki is being remembered as a pioneering female marathoner — and world-record holder. But she also was a giant on the track, sweeping gold medals at the second and third masters world championships — in 1977 (Sweden) and 1979 (Germany). In a 1977 profile in People magazine, Miki said: “I wonder myself how long I’ll be competing. I would like to go back and just run for fun and health. I know I’m going to keep at it forever — because it feels good.” Runner’s World magazine reported how the Japanese-born American “won the Boston and New York City marathons in the mid-1970s, playing an important role in keeping American runners and races at the forefront of the newly established women’s marathon. She set the world’s fastest time by a woman in a certified marathon race in 1973 (2:46:36), and a world best for the half marathon in 1978 (1:15:58). In 1976, she also ran what was then history’s second-fastest marathon time, 2:39:11, which was her personal record. … In 1963, at age 28, she moved to the United States, working and attending college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She married businessman Michael Gorman, and moved with him to Los Angeles. There she became probably the only person ever to take up running in order to gain weight. ‘I was embarrassed that I was so small [5 feet, 87 pounds]. My husband helped me go to the gym where he was a member, and I began to run,’ she said in 2010.” She ran 1500s and miles (a 5:12.81 at age 43) and crushed the W40 fields at 1979 Hanover worlds in the 5K (17:39.2), 10K (36:21.9) and marathon.

Here's how Miki was described in National Masters News at HOF induction.

Here’s how Miki was described in National Masters News at HOF induction.

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October 6, 2015

2 Responses

  1. Christel Donley - October 6, 2015

    I have such fond memories of Miki, starting in Goteborg 1977. She was my distance idol – never could understand how such a small person could be so strong. while I was fighting to run 800 m… She was so very humble and sweet.

    I also wondered, where she was; we all lost contact along the way.

    Saying good – bye, Miki. Rest in peace!

  2. Peter L. Taylor - October 6, 2015

    Yes, Christel, I, also, was saddened at the passing of Miki Gorman, “the little battler.” I’ve looked a couple of times today at an interview she did in New York City in 2012; she was still quite young in appearance and very beautiful. She was extremely modest about her accomplishments, and reading about her career tells us a lot about a bygone era when very few women were on the road or track.

    Admittance to the first class of the Masters Hall of Fame (1996) was, of course, the most difficult, as they took only seven athletes but had several decades of performers from which to draw.

    The inaugural class included Ruth Anderson, Toshi D’Elia, Norman Green, Payton Jordan, Bev LaVeck, Irene Obera, and the fabulous Miki Gorman — you will be missed, Miki.

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