Linda Somers-Smith (born May 7, 1961, in

Bitburg Air Force Base Bitburg Airport (german: Flugplatz Bitburg) is a commercial airport serving Bitburg, a city in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. It is located 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Bitburg, 32 km (20 mile) north of Trier, and 217 ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling *Long-distance operator *Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths *Long-distance trail *European long-dista ...

runner who is a two-time United States national champion in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. Somers competed in the marathon at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. She also won the 1992 Chicago Marathon (2:37:41) and the 1993

California International Marathon The California International Marathon (CIM) is an annual road marathon () held in Northern California since 1983. The net downhill course starts at Folsom Dam and ends at the State Capitol in Sacramento. The race is organized by the Sacrament ...

(2:34:11). Somers is notable as she is one of the very few athletes who has continued running at the elite level since she turned Pro in 1984 into the transition to Masters athlete. She continues to win and place in Open competition, even at the age of 50, all the while as a practicing attorney. She has run in seven US Olympic Trials Marathons and in the 2008 Boston venue she set the United States 45-49 age group record (2:38:49)* placing 17th. She continues to show impressive results, placing sixth in the Open US Club Nationals Cross Country meet in 2009* (Lexington, Kentucky), and setting age group road records in the 5K (16:14, San Jose 11/26/2009)*, the 10k (33:39, Paso Robles, California 9/26/2010), 10 Miles (57:07 Redding, California 3/6/2010) and the Half Marathon (1:13:32, Rock 'n Roll

San Jose Half Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon is an annual half marathon race which takes place in San Jose, California in the United States. It is part of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series of road running Road running is the sport of running o ...

, California 10/3/2010). Somers qualified for her seventh consecutive US Olympic Trials A Standard, a record number, while winning the Masters title (sixth place overall finish ) in the 2010 Los Angeles Marathon (2:36:33). On January 14, 2012, at the age of 50, she finished in 28th place at the USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Houston with a time of 2:37:36, another American Age Group Record. Somers was inducted into the

Road Runners Club of America Founded in 1958, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is the oldest and largest distance running organization in the United States with over 1,500 running club and event members representing 200,000 individual runners active in their running c ...

(RRCA) Hall of Fame on March 17, 2012. Later in 2012 she was inducted into the

USATF Masters Hall of Fame The USATF Masters Hall of Fame is the Masters section of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. It is intended to select worthy athletes from the various divisions of Masters athletics involved in the sports of track and field, road running an ...

US road running records

Age 45+

*5 km – 16:14 (November 2009) *10 miles – 57:09 (March 2010) *20 km – 69:42 (October 2010) *Half-marathon – 73:32 (October 2010) *30 km – 1:52:44 (April 2008)

Age 50+

*World age 50+ Half-marathon record – 75:18 (October 2011) *Marathon – 2:37:36 (January 2012) As of 2017

Achievements

References

External links

*
Profile at www.legacy.usatf.org
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somers, Linda 1961 births Living people People from Bitburg American female long-distance runners American female marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Chicago Marathon female winners 21st-century American women