Marla Runyan

Marla Runyan is a former world-class American track and field athlete and marathon runner who is legally blind. Diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease as a child, she has been legally blind for over 20 years. After graduating from Adolfo Camarillo High School in 1987, Runyan studied at San Diego State University, where she competed in numerous track and field events including the high jump and heptathlon. In 1994, she graduated with a master's degree in Communicative Disorders and began her post-collegiate running career. She qualified for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials in the heptathlon, where she finished 10th but fell short of making the Olympic Team. In 1992, she competed in her first of two Paralympic Games, ultimately winning 5 gold medals and setting 9 world records in the T13 visually impaired classification.

In 1996, Runyan relocated to Eugene, Oregon, and reinvented herself as a middle-distance runner. With a new coach and heightened focus, she won gold in the 1500-meters at the 1999 Pan-American Games and finished 10th in the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Seville, Spain. At the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, Runyan finished 3rd and qualified for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team in the 1500-meter event — becoming the first legally blind American track and field athlete to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. She was a three-time USA Outdoor 5,000m champion from 2001 to 2003 and made her second Olympic Team in that event in 2004. In 2002, she finished as the top American woman in the New York City Marathon with a personal best time of 14:59.20 in the 5,000m.

Runyan is the only visually impaired American athlete to have qualified and competed in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. She currently holds two master's degrees in Special Education and resides in Eugene with her husband and coach, Matt Lonergan. Additionally, her transition into a second career began when studying to be a special education teacher upon receiving her first professional contract in 1999, demonstrating her commitment to supporting others facing similar challenges.