Karen Cosgrove
Head Coach
Karen Cosgrove, 30-year marathon runner, is
the driving force behind Miles That Matter -- a sport training program she developed
to coach women, men, and teens to be stronger than they ever
imagined – not
only giving them feet to run but wings to fly” with her “can
do” attitude.
Karen Cosgrove, now in her 50’s and approaching her
100th marathon, never considered herself an athlete in her youth. She was always
the first person cut from any team she tried out for. So, how did
she get to where she is today? She learned to dream.
It all started from reading an article in a
popular women’s magazine 30 years ago that talked about running and walking as great ways to get
in shape.
This caught her eye because she had gained
20 pounds from a sedentary
job as a graphic designer coupled with the habit of eating pizza and
beer with friends.
About the same time, she saw Frank Shorten win an Olympic gold medal
in for the United States in the 70’s.
Karen, a middle child from a family of nine
siblings, started to dream. She
saw running as a way to stand out from the crowd and gain an identity of
her own.
So she started running with her brother. Her first time out of the
driveway, her brother said, “Which way do you want to go?” and
Karen pointed left to the downhill route. Sound familiar?
She barely made it back. But she did not give up.
In time, she was running six miles (10K) comfortably. She lost those
extra 20 pounds. She joined the YMCA. She started teaching
classes for others.
Karen’s Life Changing Experience
Karen’s life changing experience started when she tagged along with
her brother’s friends to the Terre Haute Marathon -- intending to
run a six mile race while they tackled 26.2.
Fully aware of a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, Karen did
just that. She registered for the full marathon instead, although
she had jogged no more than a maximum of six miles in her life.
A curious thing happened. She finished the event in less than four
hours. She then entered the race circuit, continued to train and
within two years became an elite runner, taking twelfth in the world in
1980. While other women found emancipation on college campuses and
at women’s rights rallies, Karen became liberated by a pair of worn
out Nikes.
Karen’s U.S. Olympic Team Dream
Eventually Karen became the twenty-ninth female
out of 265 to cross the finish line of the 1984 U.S. Olympic trials. Unfortunately, only
the first three finishers qualified, one of whom was from Karen’s
home town.
Excited for her friend but disappointed in her own performance, Karen
flew home that evening with the stinging irony that “the girl next
door” was living what could have been her Olympic dream.
Once the plane landed, Karen jostled through bands, flower bouquets
and swarming reporters before she glimpsed her own celebration – an
unassuming poster board sign held by her two-year-old son displaying the
scribbled words, “Mommy, we love you and are so proud of you!”
Amazingly enough, four years later Karen tried again. Only seven
months after the birth of her second child, she laced her shoes for the
1988 Olympic trials. Early in the race she stepped into a pothole
and sprained her ankle, and at mile 11 she had to make the agonizing decision
to drop out.
The very next week, her brother was diagnosed
with a rare form of cancer and given only a 5 percent chance of survival. As many of us do when
faced with a heartache, Karen bargained with God to give her brother
a second chance. She vowed then to “make a difference” with her
life.
Today, Karen’s brother is alive and so is her promise. Prior
to founding Miles That Matter, Karen worked with the Leukemia and lymphoma
Society, training ordinary people to run an extraordinary distance -- a
first marathon.
In 16 years of coaching, she has guided over 7,000 people across that finish line.
Karen’s Philosophy
Her philosophy is simple. She keeps her charges grounded with common
sense advice.
- “Listen to your body.” (Having run
over 90 marathons, she has never been injured.)
- And not once has
she asked anyone’s race time. She believes that is not what’s
important. “It’s all about making people strong,” says
Karen.
Today Karen, because of the twists and turns to her road to independence,
she finds herself training more than just marathoners. She coaches
women, men, and teens to be stronger than they ever imagined they
could be. She
not only gives them feet to run, she gives them wings to fly.
Fun Facts
Karen
was there at the beginning of the Flying Pig Marathon in 1998. Karen “drew
the course on a bar napkin” with Flying Pig Marathon founder with
Bob Coughlin.
Coaching Philosophy
- The goal is to teach you that "more is not better - balance is everything".
- Fitness should be a life-long activity, and done right, it will be.
Coaching Experience
- Founder, Miles That Matter
- Fleet Feet Sports Training Program, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Personal and Virtual Coach to hundreds of first time and seasoned runners
(since 1988)
- Head Coach: TEAM IN TRAINING The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (1992
- 2007)
Area of Expertise
- Running and Run-Walking Programs for all levels
- Strength Training for the Multi-Sport Athlete
- Bicycling
- Swimming
- Motivation
- Fundraising
Competitive Experience Highlights
- Has run more than 90 marathons and never been injured.
- Ranked 12th in the world for marathon distance in 1980
- Qualified and competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Trials
- Winner of the First Columbus Marathon
- Eighth in first attempt at the Boston Marathon in 1979
- Winner of the Chicago Distance Classic in 1980. Second
fastest time for an American woman that year
- Four time winner of the Charleston Distance Classic
- Tenth at Avon Women’s International Marathon Championship. Second
American Woman, September 1979
- Fourth at Avon Women’s International 30K Championship
April, 1979
- Winner of several local road races and triathlons.
- Third and Second Place in Age Group at the World’s Largest
Age Group Triathlon, Chicago , 2001 and 2002
- Featured in The Runner Magazine, December 1981, Karen Cosgrove:
The Story Of A Leading Runner and Her Pregnancy
- Greater Cincinnati March of Champions - Athlete of the Year-
Female- Community at Large 1996, presented by the
March of Dimes.
- Communiplex Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, 1989
- Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Sport’s Association,
Master & Senior Sportswoman of the Year, 2004.
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