Kelly Murphey-Glenn Part II

A report by the statistician

Kelly is a kindred spirit with Rusty, her horse that she acquired as a preteen and who died in 1986. Rusty had a depth in his love for movement which made him distinct from other horses. He loved to run fast and far, and he was always ready for an outing. So it is with Kelly and her inborn need for speed.

Kelly's history as a racewalker is a series of fantastic finishes, dotted with time out for injuries. She began fitness walking with her mom, our member Karen Murphey, in 1992. In her first race, what is now the April Fool's Run, Kelly placed third overall. Kelly stayed with walking and attended a racewalking workshop in Colorado in 1994. There she met John Hannan and Judy Heller, racewalk coaches form Portland, who have been a constant influence in Kelly's development as a racewalker. Kelly spend over a year practicing and fine-tuning her racewalk technique and then spent more time after that to learn to relax as she walked the style.

What is the result of her hard work? This unknown Idahoan showed up for her first judged race at the National Masters held in Spokane in 1996 and took first place overall in both the 5K and 10K. A week later, Kelly attended the NCCWVA regional meed in Eugene, Oregon and took first overall in the 5K and finished 3rd overall in the 10K. Kelly holds the record for the Idaho Women's Fitness Celebration and she has met All American times in several other races.

Kelly and 1999 did not mesh well. Kelly had a knee injury that lasted the entire year, and she had thyroid surgery in February. Despite these challenges, she was first overall in the '99 Northwest Regionals in Seattle.

Several years ago, Kelly and three other local racewalkers of respectable speed had a goal to qualify for the Olympic trials. Life changed the goals of the other three walkers, but Kelly carries on. She will attend a judged race in Vancouver, BC on March 5, 2000. Kelly will race in a 20K and set her goal to finish with a qualifying time for the Olympic trials held in Sacramento in July of this year. The qualifying time for the 20K is 1:48:00 which works out to about an 8:45 pace. Kelly looks fluid, but she's made out of steel. This is a tough goal and Kelly is a tough gal. Like Rusty, she's waiting to be let out so she can do what she is made for and what she loves. We'll greet you proudly when you come home from Canada with a qualifying time. You go, girl!