Jane Dolley

Not just for boys

A self-professed “tom boy,” Jane was athletic as a child 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 Dolley. 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 100th Boston in April, 1996, just one year after donating a kidney to her stepson, Scott.

In the early ‘80s, 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 10-K. In fact, her 5-K time of 20:02 set an age group record in the 1988 Corporate National Championship 5-K 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 becoming the first female president of the Maine Track Club to becoming 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 Benoit Samuelson to create the Peoples Bank Beach to Beacon 10-K Race, serving as race director and president of the board of directors. In 1998, Jane switched roles in the race and became the medical operations manager. When asked what has been her most satisfying accomplishment, 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 10-K."

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’s running managerial positions include: 1998-present – medical operations manager, Peoples Beach to Beacon 10-K; 1998 – race director & president, board of directors, Peoples Beach to Beacon 10-K; 1995-1997 – director, United States Corporate Athletics Association (USCAA); 1991 – USATF, Ekiden Women's Coach, Chiba, Japan; 1991 – faculty, race director's meeting, Portland, Oregon; 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 meeting, Washington, DC; 1988-1989 – Maine Ekiden men's team manager, New York City; 1987-1990 – eastern regional director, RRCA; 1986 – race director, RRCA 10-K National Championship, Portland; 1986 – president, Maine Track Club; 1985 – vice president, Maine Track Club; 1984-1989 – co-founder and co-race director, Cape Challenge Half-Marathon.

Awards Jane has won include: 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.

Jane’s career personal bests include: Marathon – 3:21:22, Twin Cities, Minneapolis; 10 miles – 68:39, Bowdoin and Back 10 Miler; 10-K – 41:54, Cow Harbor 10-K, Northport, N.Y.; 5-K – 20:22, USCAA National Championships, Palo Alto, Calif.; 1 mile – 5:54, Maine Corporate Track.