Born to run...

Running History and Personal Accomplishments

Jane had been athletic since childhood (i.e. a "tom boy"), and found that all sports came easy to her. Yet she grew up during the era when running was only for boys, and she didn't discover it until age 30. She heard about this new sport that could be enjoyed all year, didn't depend on snow, grass, clay or teams, and was relatively inexpensive. In 1978, Jane laced up her tennis sneakers and attempted to run around the baseball diamond at the Riverton School. She would realize later that she had just joined the "running boom". In fact, 1978 became a significant year for Jane: she met Barbara (Coughlin) Hintze, her best friend and running companion; joined the Maine Track Club; and married Ken. It was also the year she volunteered at the inaugural Casco Bay Marathon and set her first running goal: to run a marathon.

The 1979 Casco Bay Marathon remains a very special memory for Jane as she recalls her father cheering as she finished her first marathon in 4:06:08. By 1988, Jane had run over 25 marathons. In October of that year, she competed as a master in the Twin Cities Marathon, with a PR of 3 :21 :22 that qualified her for the 1989 Boston Marathon. Her last marathon was the 1O0th Boston in April, 1996, just one year after donating a kidney to her stepson, Scott.

In the early 80's, Jane joined the Unum Corporate track team and found enjoyment in the shorter races, too. For over 13 years, she competed in Corporate relays and individual track events, from the 100 meters to the 10k. In fact, her 5k time of 20:02 set an age group record in the 1988 Corporate National Championship 5k road race, a record that stood for over 10 years.

Jane's involvement as a volunteer started in 1984 when she and Barbara founded and directed the Cape Challenge Half Marathon. Leadership roles on the local and national levels ranged from the first female president of the Maine Track Club to the President of the Road Runners Club of America. Social events and speaking engagements on behalf of the RRCA took her around the country and even as far as Japan when she was the coach of the USA's women's team in the International Ekiden relay race.

Jane attributes her success in running not only to her natural athletic abilities and mental toughness but also to the coaching and support she received from Andy Palmer, an inductee in the Maine Running Hall of Fame in November, 2000. Jane met Andy in 1985, when she was 37. She wanted to improve her marathon times to qualify for Boston when she was 40, and asked him to help her achieve this goal. For the first time in her life, Jane had a coach and mentor; and she devoted herself to the regimen that Andy established for her and followed his training schedules religiously. Under his tutelage, Jane became mentally and physically tough, met her goals and ran personal bests from the mile to the marathon. When they started working together, Andy said Jane was the oldest runner he had coached. In speaking to groups, Andy would often refer to Jane's focus and patience, and to the satisfaction he got in helping an older athlete realize her goals.

Jane's running career ended abruptly in January, 1998, when she had back surgery, but she remains involved in the Maine running community. In 1997, she worked with Joan Samuelson to create the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10k Race, serving as Race Director and President of the Board of Directors. IIi 1998, Jane switched roles in the race and became the Medical Operations Manager. When asked what has been her most satisfying accomplishments, Jane says it is working with Dr. Doug Aiken, the Medical Director, to establish the Beach to Beacon medical operations as one of the best among national caliber road races. For the October, 1999, issue of Road Race Management, she wrote an article entitled: "Setting Up the Medical Operation for a Hot Weather 1Ok."

Jane and Ken moved to North Carolina in October, 2000, and built a home in a golf and boating community. Golf is her passion now, and she has new friends who are far removed from the running scene. But she continues her membership in the Maine Track Club and returns to Maine each summer to assume her role as the Beach to Beacon's Medical Operations Manager.

Jane W. Dolley

RUNNING POSITIONS .
1998-present: Medical Operations Manager, Peoples Beach to Beacon 10k
1998: Race Director & President, Board of Directors, Peoples Beach to Beacon 10k , . 1995-1997: Director, United States Corporate Athletics Assoc. (USCAA)
1991: USATF, Ekiden Women's Coach, Chiba, Japan
1991: Faculty, Race Director's Meeting, Portland, OR
1990-1992: President, Road Runners Club of America (RRCA)
1988-1990: Maine USATF Vice President and Chair, Women's LDR
1988: Faculty, Road Race Management Race Director's Mtg; Washington, DC
1988-1989: Maine Ekiden Men's Team Manager, NYC
1987-1990: Eastern Regional Director, RRCA
1986: Race Director, RRCA lOk National Championship, Portland, ME
1986: President, Maine Track Club
1985: Vice President, Maine Track Club
1984-1989: Co-founder and Co-Race Director, Cape Challenge Half-Marathon

AWARDS
1989: Runner's World "Golden Shoe Award" for contribution to running
1987: Scott Hamilton Award, Outstanding National Chapter President, RRCA
1986: Race Director of the Year, Maine Track Club
1988: Most Outstanding Runner 40-49, Maine Track Club
1985: Female Runner of the Year, Maine Track Club
1984: Outstanding Race Director, Maine Track Club.
1983: Most Improved Runner, 30-39

CAREER PERSONAL BESTS
Marathon: 3:21:22, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
10 miles: 68:39, Bowdoin and Back 10 Miler
lOk: 41:54, Cow Harbor lOk, Northport, NY
5K: 20:22, USCAA National Championships, Palo Alto, CA
1 mile: 5:54, Maine Corporate Track