Kim Merritt
| Kim Merritt | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 22, 1955 Racine, Wisconsin, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Long-distance runner |
| Years active | 1975—1984 |
Kim Merritt (born May 22, 1955 in Racine, Wisconsin) is a former American long-distance runner who competed in the marathon. Her career coincided with the development of women's running in the United States and she was at the forefront of distance running in the mid-1970s.
She won the 1975 New York City Marathon and in 1976 she took the women's titles at both the Boston and Honolulu Marathons. Her personal best time of 2:37:57, set at the 1977 Nike OTC Marathon, was an American record for the distance and made her the fourth best runner worldwide that year. Merritt also won numerous shorter races on the national circuit, including the Falmouth Road Race, Crim 10 mile run and Gate River Run. She ceased competing around 1980, although she made an unsuccessful attempt at the 1984 Olympic Marathon Trials.
She attended the University of Wisconsin–Parkside and won the state cross country championship in 1973, going on to place fifth at the nationals. During her time there she received AIAW honours in track and field and cross country, as well as earning Academic All-America honours for her studies as a student-athlete.
Merritt took the inaugural honours at the Quad-City Times Bix 7 Mile in July 1975 and then won the Charleston Distance Run the following month – she returned to both competitions in 1976 and retained her titles. The twenty-year-old Merritt made her major marathon debut in September 1975 at the New York City Marathon and defeated Michiko Gorman to win the race in a time of 2:46:15 hours. This also made her that year's national champion over the distance and ranked her as the fourth fastest woman in the world in 1975.
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