Elaine Van Blunk ( McGillam; born September 11, 1964) is an American long-distance runner who finished third at the

1994 Chicago Marathon The 1994 Chicago Marathon was the 17th running of the annual marathon race in Chicago, United States and was held on October 30. The elite men's race was won by Brazil's Luíz Antônio dos Santos in a time of 2:11:16 hours and the women's race w ...

. She was the 1989 winner of the 3000 meters at the

USA Track & Field Indoor Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

, and finished seventh in the

10,000 meters The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

event at the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was the Estadio Panamericano, a mul ...

Personal life

Van Blunk attended

Archbishop Prendergast High School Archbishop Prendergast High School was an all-girl Catholic high school in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It has been merged with Monsignor Bonner High School and renamed. It is located in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. The school is ...

, and later Saint Joseph's University. She graduated from Saint Joseph's in 1986. She is married to Jim Van Blunk, who was an athlete and later admissions director at Saint Joseph's University. Jim Van Blunk won the 1986 and 1987

Broad Street Run The Blue Cross Broad Street Run, which has taken place in Philadelphia on the first Sunday in May since the early 1980s, is the largest (40,689 runners in 2012) 10-mile road race in the United States. Course The race starts at T.S. Park, in the ...

races. Van Blunk has lived in

West Deptford Township, New Jersey West Deptford Township (pronounced West DEP-ford) is a township in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 22,197, reflecting an increase of 520 (+2.4%) from the 21,677 count ...

, and

Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, up from 28,043 at the 2010 census, and accounting for over a third of Upper Darby's population. ...

Career

Whilst at Archbishop Prendergast High School, Van Blunk competed in Catholic League girl's athletics competitions. In 1981, she finished third in the cross country event, and in 1982, she won the 3,200 meter race in a meeting record time of 11:09.4. Whilst at Saint Joseph's University, Van Blunk qualified for the 1985

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

, and in 1986, she became an

all-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

athlete. After graduating, Van Blunk worked as an accountant, and later as an investigator in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the office of the

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confirmed by the New Jersey Senate, and term limite ...

. She gave up the role to pursue athletics full time, although she also worked part-time as a track assistant at Saint Joseph's. Van Blunk was sponsored by

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

. She was the 1989 winner of the 3000 meters event at the

. In the same year, Van Blunk finished sixth in the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

. She also won a race in

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and a event at the Metropolitan Athletics Congress. In 1990, Van Blunk won the 10,000 meters event at the Penn Relays. She finished second in the event in 1991, albeit in a faster time. In 1990, Van Bluck won the 8 km road race at the United States Championships. She competed at the

1991 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 3rd IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo in Seville, Spain from March 8 to March 10, 1991. It was the first Indoor Championships to include relay races as well as women's triple j ...

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, Spain, and placed seventh in the

event at the

. In 1992, Van Blunk won a Dukes invitational 5,000 meters race in a time of 16:04.7. In 1993, Van Blunk set a course record of 1:12:11 at the Fairfield Half-Marathon. She also won the

, in a course record time of 53:15, and the half marathon event at the United States Championships. She also finished 21st in the

event at the

1993 World Championships in Athletics The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Neckarstadium, Stuttgart, Germany between 13 and 22 August with the participation of 187 nations. Having ori ...

. In 1994, Van Blunk finished third at the

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

, 51 seconds behind winner

Kristy Johnston Kristy Johnston (born 3 June 1965) is a retired American marathoner. Johnson started her athletic career in 1986 and won her only World Marathon Majors at the 1994 Chicago Marathon. She reappeared at Chicago from 1995 to 2000 and was the Chicago ...

. It was Van Blunk's second career marathon. In 1995, she won the 25 km road race at the United States Championships, and competed in the marathon event at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, but did not finish the race. In 1997, Van Blunk won the Broad Street Run for the second time.

International competitions

Road race wins

* Old Kent River Bank Run: 1995Elaine vanBlunk
Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved January 7, 2021. * Cooper River Bridge Run: 1994 *

: 1993, 1997 * Pittsburgh Great Race: 1989

National titles

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

**3000 m:

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Blunk, Elaine Living people 1964 births People from West Deptford Township, New Jersey Track and field athletes from New Jersey American female marathon runners American female long-distance runners American female cross country runners Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 Pan American Games World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Saint Joseph's Hawks athletes Saint Joseph's University alumni 21st-century American women