westernstate-148

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Kimball Pier
July 4, 2021 at 9:00 pm
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Dear Coach Vandenbusche – Thank you for including me on the 1979 men’s team as the only female! The road trips were unforgettable. Not sure if you know, but I went on to compete in three Olympic Marathon Trials and competed nationally and internationally for the U.S. I ran for Nike for about ten years, and then ran for Brooks. Perhaps more importantly, I went on to complete my undergraduate work at the University of Washington after I had my two children with Jim Dryden. I then completed a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, and a doctorate in Depth Psychology in 2013. If not for your encouragement, and the opportunity to attend WSC, I might not have been able to achieve any of these goals. My best time for the marathon is 2:35:15, which I ran in 1991. I ran 33:08 for 10km and 16:07 for 5km. These are times I never thought I was capable of in 1979, but I never forgot the time I spent at WSC with you and how that brief time gave me what I needed to believe I could accomplish anything. I published a memoir in 2017 entitled, “Killing Penelope,” in which I wrote about my first encounter with you and the experience of being the only female runner on WSC’s cross-country team.



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People in this photo
Year of photo
Location
Description

Front – Val Murray, Rob Konrad, Ron Richardson
2nd Row – Vandenbusche, Ralph Miller, Fred Schumann, Eric Loewen, Adam Tischler, Jim Dryden, Mark Bowdish, Mike Kelly, Coach Roberts
3rd Row – Jim Roth, Todd Billings, John Biggers, Gary Caton, Scott Vanatta, Jim Ellis, Milwaukee Boy?