Kate Tenforde (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

O'Neill; born July 29, 1980) is an American long-distance runner from Milton,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. She represented the United States in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, competing in the

10,000 metres 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 ...

Amateur career

Tenforde ran cross country and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where she was a three-time NCAA runner-up in Cross Country,

5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

(indoor), and 10,000 m (outdoor). O'Neill earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n honors in both Cross Country and Outdoor track. Her twin sister, Laura, was also an All-American at Yale.

Professional career

In 2004, after setting personal records in the 10,000 m and 5000 m, Tenforde finished third in the Olympic 10,000 m trials with a time of 32:07.25. This qualified her for the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Athens, she finished 21st with a time of 32:24.04.

Marathon

Tenforde later turned her focus to longer distance events, with an emphasis on the marathon. She was coached by Terrence Mahon, who coaches notable American marathoners

Deena Kastor Deena Michelle Kastor (née Drossin; born February 14, 1973) is an American long-distance runner. She is the former American record holder in the marathon (2003-2022) and numerous road distances. Kastor held 15 American records simultaneously in ...

, Ryan Hall, and

Jen Rhines Jennifer Rhines (born July 1, 1974 in Syracuse, New York) is an American long-distance runner who competes in track, cross country and road running events. She has competed in three different Summer Olympics and made 15 US Teams. Rhines atte ...

. She had a strong marathon debut at the

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...

, finishing third with a time of 2:36:15. In January 2008, she won the 2008 USA

half-marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

championship (1:11:57) at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon. Tenforde was a favorite at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, but a knee injury forced her to drop out at mile 21. In 2009 Tenforde trained in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, and was the first American finisher at the 2009

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

, with a time of 2:34:48. In September 2014, Tenforde won the annual

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * '' Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Pa ...

Corporate Challenge 5k.

Personal

Tenforde married former

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

runner Adam Tenforde on November 20, 2010.

Professional

From 2010 through 2015, Tenforde worked as a coach and product manager fo
''runcoach''
to share her running expertise with recreational runners across the country. In 2016, she launche
''Beantown Running''
and began offering private coaching services to runners of all levels.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenforde, Kate 1980 births Living people American female long-distance runners American female marathon runners Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Yale Bulldogs women's track and field athletes Yale Bulldogs women's cross country runners Sportspeople from Milton, Massachusetts 21st-century American sportswomen