16 | Michele Cuke
Starting Line 1928
English - November 17, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 46.2 MB - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsHistory Sports Running runners runninghistory womenrunners Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: 15 | Patricia Barrett
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Michele Cuke's first racing success came at age ten when she won a 600-meter race sponsored by her church. She went on to become one of California’s top high school 800-meter and cross-country runners, then competed collegiately at UCLA. She ran all four years, culminating in setting the 10,000-meter school record and becoming the 1983 NCAA 1500-meter champion. Ultimately, Cuke completed eleven marathons in less than three hours, including eight in less than 2 hours and 45 minutes. To this day, she remains second-fastest on the growing list of American-born Black female runners who have eclipsed three hours in the marathon, thanks to the 2:37:41 she ran at the 1991 California International Marathon.