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FLRC Newsletter - November 2004 |
| Lucky Charm for Women’s Wineglass Winner | |
Good luck charms come in all shapes and sizes. Runners carry holy medals, Celtic symbols, and family trinkets.
But no one had a lucky charm like the one Wineglass Marathon women's champion Lori Kingsley brought to that race, which she won in a personal-best 2:59:52.
The 38-year-old Wysox, PA, runner became the first local person in many years to win the Wineglass Marathon. Inside her sports bag that morning, Kingsley had tucked a handwritten letter from Paula Radcliffe, and a personally autographed photograph of Radcliffe winning the Flora London Marathon in a world-record time of 2:15:25.
Radcliffe, of Great Britain, is arguably one of the best female runners in the world today, by virtue of two marathon world records, plus shorter distance road and track records and two world cross-country championship gold medals. There were great expectations that Radcliffe would win the Olympic gold medal in the marathon, but it was not to be.
"I have admired Paula Radcliffe for years," said Kingsley, one of our region's best road racers. "I've wanted to write her and tell her how much I admire her morals and values, especially her stand against drug cheating. I also admired the fact she wanted to take some of her money and donate it to the development of girls in sports."
Neither the London nor Chicago marathons, where Radcliffe excelled, are televised throughout the United States. But Kingsley was excited about the opportunity to see Olympic marathon coverage broadcast by NBC from start to finish, with Radcliffe and American Deena Kastor, whom she was also cheering for, front and center. Kingsley was on a family vacation, but came home early to catch the live action.
"I had set the VCR, but I thought, 'What if it doesn't work?' I got home two hours ahead of my husband, and when I watched the marathon, I was so excited," Kingsley said. But then the front-runner (Mizuki Noguchi of Japan) pulled away, and I thought, 'Come on, Paula!' I knew the weight of her whole country was on her shoulders."
Radcliffe would drop out of the Olympic marathon near the 22-mile mark. In pain, and dehydrated from the 90-degree temperature, Radcliffe sat down on a curb, buried her head in her hands and sobbed, while millions of people watched.
"Her level (of skill) is so much bigger than mine, but I understood her disappointment," said Kingsley, who was sidelined last year with injuries. "I said out loud, 'Please leave her alone!' It broke my heart. It was then I decided to write her a letter, and tell her I considered her the single most outstanding female long-distance runner."
Kingsley's letter was just a half-page in length, but in the text she assured Radcliffe that she could come back, and be stronger, and added, "don't beat yourself up too badly." Kingsley told Radcliffe that she used her as a role model for her three daughters, and then wished her luck. Kingsley searched the Web for a mailing address, and sent the letter off to England.
"I didn't ask Paula to write me back, but I did include my mailing address," said Kingsley, a mental health therapist at Guthrie Healthcare in Sayre. "I sent the letter one week after the Olympic marathon, then waited three more weeks until I began checking my mail. Each night I'd say to my husband John, 'Anything from England, honey?'"
The week of the Wineglass Marathon, Kingsley walked into her kitchen, greeted her family and made a beeline to the stack of mail.
"My husband said, 'Close your eyes,' and I was praying he was handing me the letter. It was," Kingsley said.
Radcliffe had penned in her own handwriting a brief letter, thanking Kingsley for all the kind words and encouragement. She thanked her for taking time from her busy life to write a letter, and she said difficult times make you stronger, and she would be back. Radcliffe then signed the photograph, coincidentally the same picture Kingsley had used as a computer screen saver. Radcliffe wrote: "To Lori, Best wishes on your marathon. Good luck.—Paula Radcliffe."
The letter and photograph would be matted and framed. But first they took a ride to the Wineglass Marathon and were pulled out when the going got tough. Kingsley's family was waiting at the 18-mile mark, while eventual runner-up Debbie Gould of Pelham, MA, passed Kingsley at 15 miles for the lead.
"I was struggling out there, and my daughter Rebekah yelled from the side of the road that dad had a surprise for me," Kingsley recalled. "I thought he had picked a bouquet of black-eyed Susans for me. But when I came around the corner, my husband held up the autographed photo and read out loud what Paula had written. I soon passed Debbie again, and said to myself, 'I can do this.'"
No matter what you're age or talent, everyone needs role models who can be summoned in our minds.
"Female role models give us inspiration, even though we don't perform at their level," said Kingsley. "You see them coming out of tough times, and know if you work hard, you can do it, too. Radcliffe is a clean, hard winner, and even though she had a tough time, she has the inner strength to get through it. It gives us all hope."
Kingsley says winning her hometown marathon has given her a feeling of "beyond euphoria." She's received cards and letters from people in the community, and has even been the subject of her daughter's school show-and-tell project.
And, what goes around, comes around. Kingsley received a memorable fan letter of her own, this one from her daughter's school principal.
It said: "Thank you for putting us on the map."
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