The running world, and the world in general, lost a wonderful person the other day with the death of Grete Waitz.  She was an inspiration to thousands of young women, as well as men, including this one.

Norwegian Athletics Federation president Svein Arne Hansen said, "Grete is in my eyes one of the greatest Norwegian athletes of all time.  Not only through her performances in the sport, but also as a role model for women in sports."
Marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe described Waitz as "an amazing champion and more amazing person."

Grete Waitz was arguably one of the world's finest athletes. A high school teacher in her native Oslo, Norway, she dominated the international running scene during the seventies and eighties. Her achievements included fifteen world records and eight number one rankings at various distances from 1,500 meters to the marathon. In the process, Grete won five World Cross Country Championships, nine New York City Marathons, two London Marathons, a gold medal at the 1983 World Championship Marathon in Helsinki and a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles. In 1982, Grete became the only athlete to receive St. Olav's Medal, given by the King of Norway for Outstanding Citizenship. In 1991, Runner's World selected Grete as the best distance runner in the world in the last century.

I briefly met Grete at a pre-race event in Syracuse in the late 1980s.  She was there to run the Freihofer’s Run for Women (which she won) and Mary and I were there to hear her speak.  I had just published my first book, “Runner’s Guide to Cross Country Skiing,” and knowing she was a skier as well as a runner, wanted to give her a copy.  This was long before the days of handlers and so I just walked up, introduced myself, and asked her to sign a copy.  Mary snapped a photo.

Over the years, I’ve always smiled at the bemused look on Grete’s face as she graciously signed the book, wondering, “Who is this guy?”  She was classy about it and it was about 30 seconds of interaction -- but something I’ve always remembered.  Grete Waitz was a remarkable athlete but much more than that.  Marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe speaks for many when she describes Grete Waitz as "an amazing champion and more amazing person." R.I.P.