The First Ladies of African American Long Distance Running
Marilyn Bevans & Ella Willis
42 Years Ago Today at the Boston Marathon – April 18, 1977
Marilyn Bevans finished second to Miki Gorman at the Boston Marathon in a time of 2:51:12.
She would record her personal best marathon time of 2:49:56 in 1979 at Boston.
Her first marathon was the 1973 Maryland Marathon where she placed second.
She was the first world class African American long distance runner achieving her first sub 3 hour race at the 1975 New York Marathon.
Marilyn was inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame in the inaugural class in 2013.
Ella Willis:
October 26, 1975 wins the Detroit Free Press (Motor City) Marathon in 3:13:51 becoming the first African American female to win a marathon.
She would go on to win the Detroit Marathon three more times; 1988 – 2:41:49, 1989 – 2:38:22, and 1991 – 2:42:49. Her 2:38:22 was an all-time best time for African American women from 1989 to 1991.
Michigan Runner Magazine named her Female Runner of the Year in 1984 and 1989.
Ella was inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2017.
All-Time List of African American Women Marathoners – American Born
2019 Highlights:
Shawanna White becomes first African American to complete 15 marathons under 3 hours. She has run two marathons this year in Birmingham - Mercedes February 10th and Newport News One City March 3rd with times of 2:54:16 and 2:56:02 respectively.
Ingrid Walters moves up the all-time list to 5th ranked off her first place finished in both the Open Women’s and Masters Division for the Los Angeles Marathon in 2:48:03. This race was March 24th.
Here are the 12 Black Women who have run Sub 3 Hour Marathons:
American Born - Rankings
Samia Akbar 2:34:14 - New York Marathon 12th place – 2006
Michele (Bush) Cuke 2:37:41 – California International Marathon 2nd place – 1991
Ella Willis 2:38:22 – Detroit Free Press Marathon 1st place – 1989
Shawanna White 2:45:19 - One City Marathon 3rd place - 2018
Ingrid Walters 2:48:03 - Los Angeles Marathon 1st place Open Women's & Masters Division - 2019
Jenae Strader 2:49:11 – Philadelphia Marathon 4th place – 1999
Rolanda Bell 2:49:36 - Chicago Marathon 46th place - 2018
Alisa (Hill) Harvey 2:49:28 – Richmond Marathon 2nd place – 1999
Marilyn Bevans 2:49:56 – Boston Marathon 2nd place – 1979
Michele (Soderberg) Hill 2:50:19 – Sri Chinmoy Marathon CA 1st place - 1983
Ariane Hendrix 2:57:04 Ventura Marathon 4th place - 2018
Krystine Beneke 2:59:47 - Boston Marathon 129th place- 2014
This is an ongoing running history project. Our goal is to identify all African American women who have broken 3 hours. Later in the year we’ll produce an honorable mentioned category of women who have achieved a sub 3:10. Please forward names of American born black women who run these times.
Gary Corbitt
Curator: Ted Corbitt Archives
Historian: National Black Marathoners Association