NYC Running Legend Gordon Bakoulis on a Lifetime in Women's Running

New York Road Runners’ Gordon Bakoulis joins Set the Pace this week to talk with Rob about her legendary career as both an elite athlete and NYRR’s editorial director. Gordon qualified for the Olympic marathon trials in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 and was a finalist in the 1992 U.S. Olympic 10,000m trials. As she looks ahead to retirement after nearly 24 years at New York Road Runners, she reflects on the organization’s continued commitment to innovation and inclusion and why she believes those values will continue to shape its future. Gordon also shares her remarkable running journey—from discovering the sport as a teenager during the running boom of the late 1970s to joining the Atalanta NYC run club and competing at the highest level. She discusses her experience as a running coach and explains how helping others pursue their goals continues to inspire her.

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0:00 A different era for women's running
0:18 Welcome & The Trailblazers: NYRR's 50th-anniversary campaign
3:15 Meet Gordon Bakoulis, five-time Olympic Trials qualifier
5:48 Starting to run in 1978, just after the first five-borough marathon
10:11 The high school mile and discovering her talent
12:08 College at UVA and running on her own terms
15:43 Bob Glover, women's running, and getting serious
16:36 Grandma's 1987: qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials
20:56 "It felt like my Olympics": what the Trials really mean
26:00 Motherhood, the 2000 Trials, and racing across decades
28:03 Becoming a coach: Boulder, Benji Durden, and a new chapter
35:42 Why group training beats running solo
38:52 Gordon by the Numbers: a stat quiz on 40 years of racing
44:49 Her NYRR legacy and honoring the founders
50:22 A bittersweet goodbye: Gordon's retirement
51:37 Peloton + this week's NYRR race results

Listen to past episodes:
Spotify: bit.ly/474e5Wa
Apple Music: apple.co/3IKaKSb
iHeart: ihr.fm/44L0zp3

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed by guests on the podcast are their own and their appearance on the podcast does not imply an endorsement by NYRR of them or their views.

Learn more about New York Road Runners: nyrr.org
Become an NYRR Member: nyrr.org/membership
Learn more about New York Road Runners: nyrr.org
Become an NYRR Member: nyrr.org/membership