Kim Jones (runner)

Kim Jones (born May 2, 1958) is a retired American marathoner and road runner. Author of the autobiography, Dandelion Growing Wild.

Kim Jones
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1958-05-02) May 2, 1958
Sonoma, California
Websiteanaerobic.net
Sport
CountryUSA
SportRoad Racing
Event(s)Marathon
Coached byCoached by Benji Durden, US Olympian (1980, Marathon)
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)10 K: 32:23 (1989)

Half Marathon: 1:11:34 (1988)
30 K: 1:47:41 (1986)

Marathon: 2:26:40 (1991)

Early life and education

Kim Jones was born on May 2, 1958 in Sonoma, California.[1] She had a successful high school running career, winning states titles in the 400 meters, 800 meters, and mile.[1][2]

Distance running career

Jones became a marathoner after seeing Joan Samuelson's victory in the first women's Olympic marathon.[1] She ran her first marathon in 1984, finishing with a time of 2:48:48.[2] She soon began working with coach Benji Durden, himself an elite marathoner, and posted a second-place finish at the 1985 Twin Cities Marathon, with a time of 2:35:59.[1][3] Jones competed in the marathon at the 1987 World Championships, but she did not finish after hurting her ankle.[1][4] In 1988, she finished 5th in the Olympic Marathon Trials with a time of 2:32:16.[5] At the 1991 Berlin Marathon, she ran her lifetime best of 2:26:40 while finishing second.[1] Her time in Berlin made Jones the third-fastest woman marathoner for 1991.[6]

Given her performances in 1991, Jones was among the favorites to qualify for the 1992 US Olympic team and, perhaps, even compete for a medal at the Olympics.[1][2][7] Jones injured her ankle, however, only weeks before the Olympic Marathon Trials, and despite continuing her training, she earned a "Did not finish" result in the race.[1][2][8] Later that year, at the New York City Marathon, Jones was again unable to complete the race, this time dropping out after 17 miles due to breathing problems.[1][9] Following the marathon, she suffered from bronchitis and was bedridden for a month while recovering from her illness.[9][10]

She competed in the World Championships marathon again at the 1993 meet.[11] Because of a slow pace early in the race, Jones led the pack from the 5K mark through the first thirty kilometers.[12] At this point, she began to fall back, explaining later that she "got real mad" and "wasted energy" after contact with another runner.[12] She finished the race in 8th place with a time of 2:36:33.[11] Two years later, she again competed at the World Championships in the marathon, this time finishing 16th with a time of 2:37:06.[13] In February 1996, she tried for the third time to qualify for the Olympics in the marathon, but she failed to complete the race due to illness.[14][15] Then, in June, she ran the 5000 meters at the Olympic Trials, a distance she had not previously run competitively.[16] She told Runner's World that because her "breathing problems don't usually start for 15 minutes or so," she would be able to complete the race before her asthma began bothering her.[16] At the Trials, she finished 7th with a time of 15:53.58.[17]

Marathon performances
Year Marathon Time Place
1984Honolulu Marathon2:48:485th
1985Twin Cities Marathon2:35:582nd
1986Twin Cities Marathon2:32:311st
1987Twin Cities Marathon2:35:422nd
1988Pittsburgh Marathon2:32:155th
1988Chicago Marathon2:32:035th
1989Houston Marathon2:32:322nd
1989Boston Marathon2:29:343rd
1989Twin Cities Marathon2:31:421st
1989New York Marathon2:27:542nd
1990Boston Marathon2:31:015th
1990New York Marathon2:30:502nd
1991Boston Marathon2:26:402nd
1991Berlin Marathon2:27:502nd
1992Hokkaido Marathon2:35:463rd
1993Boston Marathon2:30:002nd
19931993 World Championships in Athletics2:36:338th
1994Boston Marathon2:31:488th
1995London Marathon2:31:356th
19951995 World Championships in Athleticsshort course14th
1995Chicago Marathon2:31:242nd
1996New York Marathon2:34:464th
1997Boston Marathon2:32:529th
1997New York Marathon2:32:006th
1998Houston Marathon2:35:442nd
1998Chicago Marathon2:43:3716th
2001New York Marathon2:51:2136th

Fastest marathon performances
Year Marathon Time Place
1991Boston Marathon02:26:40(2nd) 3rd fastest U.S. marathon performer
1991Berlin Marathon02:27:50 AM(2nd)
1989New York City Marathon02:27:54 AM(2nd)
1989Boston Marathon02:29:34 AM(3rd)
1993Boston Marathon02:30:00 AM(2nd)
  • Plus 12 other performances under 2:33 since 1986

Post-competitive career

Jones raised her two daughters in Spokane, Washington, and currently resides in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband Jon Sinclair. Since retiring from competition in 1998, she has been a coach with Anaerobic Management, an on-line coaching service for distance runners, as well as a speaker at special events, road races and expos.

References
  1. Bloom, Marc (2001). Run with the Champions. Rodale, Inc. pp. 195–198. ISBN 1-57954-290-5.
  2. Dick Patrick (January 21, 1992). "Runner refuses to let pain interfere". USA Today.
  3. "1985 Results Book" (PDF). Twin Cities Marathon. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  4. "Women's Marathon Results - 1987 World Championships". IAAF. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  5. "1988 Olympic Team Trials Results". Archived from the original on 20 November 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  6. "World Marathon Rankings for 1991". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  7. Anita Cechowski (December 6, 1991). "Top U.s. Runner Gets In Stride In Orlando Race". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  8. "1992 Olympic Team Trials Results". Archived from the original on 18 November 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  9. Dick Patrick (April 14, 1993). "Putting 1992 behind them: Weidenbach, Jones hit road to running recovery". USA Today.
  10. Filip Bondy (April 20, 1993). "Boston Marathon; A Healthier Jones Is Happy as Runner-Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  11. "Women's Marathon Results - 1993 World Championships". IAAF. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  12. Post, Marty (1993). "The women's World Championships marathon turned out to be a battle of concentration". Runner's World. Rodale, Inc. 28 (11): 91. ISSN 0897-1706.
  13. "Women's Marathon Results - 1995 World Championships". IAAF. Archived from the original on 8 August 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  14. "1996 Olympic Team Trials Results". Archived from the original on 20 November 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  15. Luke Cyphers (November 4, 1996). "Jones keeps U.S. up: Kim is in as a first at fourth". Daily News. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  16. Henderson, Joe (1996). Best Runs. Human Kinetics. pp. 210–211. ISBN 978-0-88011-896-5.
  17. "History of the Olympic Trials" (PDF). USA Track & Field. pp. 259–260. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
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