Our 1982 Champion Returns as This Year’s Official Starter!
We are thrilled this year to welcome back our 1982 champion, Anne Audain! Anne returns to Boston from her home in Indiana, and will serve as the Official Starter of the race! Born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1955, and adopted at birth, Anne Audain dominated the road racing world for many years and set a record in Boston with her 31:42 performance on October 11.
Audain’s journey to becoming a running sensation is nothing short of inspirational. She was born with severe bone deformities of both feet, and did not walk correctly until reconstructive surgery at age 13. Doctors doubted whether she would ever run again, let alone compete at an elite level. But Anne was determined to prove them wrong.
Through a rigorous rehabilitation process and sheer determination, Anne Audain not only regained her ability to walk and run but also went on to become one of the world’s top female middle-distance and long-distance runners. Three years after her reconstructive surgery, she qualified for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in the 1500m. She was a six-time Olympic Qualifier, and won more USA road races (75) than any other male or female runner in the 1980’s. She went on to win gold in the 3000m and silver in the 10,000m at the Commonwealth Games in Australia 1982, and Scotland 1986. Anne received the New Zealand medal of honor in 1990, and the Queen Elizabeth II MBE honors for services to athletes worldwide in 1995.
In addition, Anne founded the Anne Audain Charitable Trust in 1991 to support “at risk” youth in Auckland, New Zealand. After retiring, she founded a Women’s only 5K in Boise, Idaho in 1993 where her home base in the US was. It grew to 17,000 people in 1998, and she handed over the reins in 2011 to the St Luke’s Hospital System and to this day it continues as a great event.
Anne was inducted into the Running USA Hall of Champions in 2008, and the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. She was inducted into the R.R.C.A Distance Hall of Fame in 2014.
Beyond her achievements on the track, Anne Audain has been an advocate for women in sports and a mentor to aspiring athletes. She has used her platform to promote gender equality in athletics and has been an inspiration to countless young runners around the world.
We are so excited to have her join us this October.
