Gordon Bakoulis has built an impressive running résumé that includes: a five-time qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, finalist in the 1992 U.S. Olympic 10,000-meter Trials, and an age-group champion at the 2001 New York City Marathon, where she ran 2:41 at age 40. Her marathon personal best stands at 2:33:01; her half-marathon best at 1:11:34. "I can't imagine running not being in my life," she says. Fortunately, she has never had to. Running has shaped her life for more than five decades.

"I was just in the right place at the right time" is how Lynn Blackstone likes to color her participation in one of the pivotal events in the history of women's running—"The Six Who Sat" protest at the start of the third New York City Marathon in 1972. While this may seem a vast understatement, what cannot go unnoticed is her decades-long love of running. The sport threaded its way through her next decade, as she gave birth to two sons and continued to run through both pregnancies. Today, at age 85, Lynn still runs and is an active member of the Central Park Track Club, which she and Dave founded with 10 members in 1972.

For those who follow masters running, Jeannie Rice's name often invokes awe and admiration. At age 77, Rice has more than 40 Masters titles in the U.S. At age 70, she set her first age group world record at the 2018 Chicago Marathon with a time of 3:27:50, which she lowered a year later, at the 2019 Berlin Marathon, with a time of 3:24:48. She also holds age-group world records in the 1500 meters, 5000 meters, and 10,000 meters on the track. In this episode of Starting Line 1928, we talked about her own running routine, her role models, and her goals to run a 3:30 marathon after turning 78. Rice is also planning to compete at the 2026 World Masters Athletics Stadia Championships in South Korea.