NANCY DITZ

I always think how lucky I am to have discovered this, and wonder what I'd be doing now had I not, what a different person I'd be. I don't think I had any perception of my potential, as an athlete, or as a human being. Now I am proud to say that I was an elite marathoner, an Olympian, a television reporter, a documentary subject, and a commercial actress. This is surprising considering I didn't start running until I was twenty five years old. Before that my only encounters with sports were limited to a brief stint as a springboard diver in high school and a few years as coxswain for the men's crew team at Stanford. None of my three sisters were competitive athletes; nor were my parents.

My victories include back-to-back Los Angeles Marathons (1986 and 1987), San Francisco's Bay to Breakers run, the San Francisco Marathon, the Sydney City to Surf in Australia and the Oakland Marathon. In addition, I was the top-ranked American marathoner in 1987 and 1988; United States National Marathon Champion in 1985; first American women, IAAF World Cup Marathon; first American woman, New York City Marathon; Bay to Breakers runner-up in 1982, 1983, and 1985; Miyazaki, Japan's Women's 20K champion in 1984; and in 1988 I made the U.S. Olympic Team for the marathon. I finished a disappointing seventeenth, but was the first American woman.

One of my most memorable accomplishments, is the Olympic marathon trials in 1984. Just half a mile into the race I developed leg cramps. At eight miles, I was in forty-fourth place and thinking of dropping out, but I realized I'd never forgive myself if I quit. Besides, all my family and friends were there watching me. So I kept running. I passed seventeen people in the last nine miles to finish in my best marathon time to that date. Even so, I came in eighth, too far back to make the team. At the time I wanted the Olympics more than anything I'd ever gone after, and I was very disappointed. Now, I look back on the race with pride. It was my most courageous performance. I gave 100 percent that day and I have no regrets. The only regret you can have in running is not trying hard enough.

Running involves sacrifices and I don't know if it's the actual running or the sacrifices necessary to run that's harder. Running 70 to 100 miles a week requires rest. In my training days, my attorney husband Bruce was playing rugby. There would be rugby parties every Saturday night. I always took my longest run of the week on Sunday mornings, so I didn't want to drink and stay up late. We compromised. I would drink a few sodas and then slip out around nine and sleep in the car. Bruce's friends thought it was terrible, but it was our compromise and it worked for us. Marathon running, like any sport, requires a certain amount of selfishness. You cannot allow others to take you away from your training. This aspect of the profession was very difficult for me to come to terms with.

I started running because I wanted to be able to tell people I had run a marathon. I wasn't serious about a career at the time and figured I might just be moral support for my husband in his rugby training. So I began jogging for the sole purpose of running the 26.2 miles. I eventually did, but concluded that it was boring. Four months later I got the running bug again, and decided to run in a real marathon - and finish with a respectable time. Having a goal made the running more interesting, and in my first marathon race ever, the San Francisco Marathon in 1982, I won by more than two minutes, in 2:44:05.

When I think about why I run I guess I feel there's nothing better than being in shape, although there are a lot of other things you can do to keep in shape. Maybe it's the sense of accomplishment. There are very few things in modern society for which we get immediate reward for our work. That's why I think a lot of people like running. There's nothing subjective about it. You set a goal to run five miles or five times around the block and you do it - and you do it on your own.

I do regret not breaking into athletics earlier, for the sole reason that I would have liked to compete in college at Stanford. The positive side of that is that I don't have as many miles on this body and I'm not as worn out as I would be had I started earlier. There is a certain amount of patience and maturity required for marathon running. I think I appreciate that more than a lot of people do. There are times when it's hard work, but when I hear people complain about their running careers and how the public doesn't understand how hard they work, I think - try working for a living; this is much better than working. You're responsible for your yourself. You are truly the master of your destiny.

After my running career, I took up sports commentating and have covered major running events for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and ABC Sports. I was also an eyewitness news reporter, a featured actress for national television commercials, and a weekly columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle.

I now have two children, Jack who is eight years old and Emily who is four. I retired in 1992 but do remain active. I do not compete anymore except for a few special events, including the 1996 195-mile Hood to Coast relay race with a team of disabled and able runners. I love being a most-of-the-time stay-at-home mom. The kids, part-time-work, and volunteer activities keep me busy. I believe this time with the children is the greatest gift I can give them.