Athlete of the Week: Alaskan running legend Marcie Trent

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Ahead of her induction into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, Alaska’s Sports Source looks back on the legendary running career of Marcie Trent.

Trent’s serious running career didn’t start until after she turned 50 years old. That’s when she helped start a movement of movement in Alaska.

At one point in Trent’s life, she held nearly 20 different national age group records. She completed 59 marathons and 11 ultramarathons. Trent was also the first woman over 50 years old to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Trent is in the USA Track and Field Masters Hall of Fame and logged over 71,000 miles all in the last 27 years of her life. Despite all of the amazing accolades, it was her bright personality that might have been her greatest achievement.

“One of the greatest things about her was just how inspirational she was, and she was highly respected in the running world. There’s a story that dozens of people have told me through the years about my mom,” Trent’s son Steve Waldron said. “They’re running in a race, and a lot of times it’s their first race and they’re about in the middle of it somewhere and it’s getting tougher than they thought it would be, and they’re thinking about giving up. And then about that time a little old white-haired lady comes just kind of gliding by them, and they look over and they see her and a lot of time she’ll give them a word of encouragement, and it makes them determined, you know, so they’ll go on and finish the race.”

Trent was also part of the what is believed to be the first running club in Anchorage, the “Pulsators.” On Thursday, April 21, Trent will be enshrined into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame where her legacy will live on forever.

Trent’s life was cut short in 1995, when she and her son Larry Waldron were killed by a bear in Chugach State Park. The Trent Waldron Half Marathon and 10K are run every year in their memory.

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