Lisa Rainsberger

Who is Lisa Rainsberger?

Lisa Larsen Rainsberger, previously known as Lisa Larsen Weidenbach, is a distance runner. As of 2010, she is the last American woman to have won the Boston Marathon. She is a member of the University of Michigan Track and Field and Road Runners of America Halls of Fame. Her marathon times were among the top ten in 1984 and 1987-1994. As of 2008, she was listed four times in the top 100 all-time US women's marathon performances, with a best time of 2:28:15.

While in high school in Battle Creek, Michigan, Rainsberger won competitions as a swimmer in the Individual Medley, qualifying for the 1980 Olympic Swimming trials, and later competed on scholarship as an All-American swimmer in college at the University of Michigan. She walked away from that scholarship to earn another as a collegiate runner and was a two-time All American in track and cross country.

In 1984, she ran the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon trials where she finished fourth, missing a spot in the Olympic games. In 1985, she won the Boston Marathon in a time of 2:34:06. The highest that American women have placed at Boston since Rainsberger's 1984 win is Desiree Davilla's 2011 second place finish and Kara Goucher’s 2009 third place finish. Rainsberger finished first back-to-back in the Chicago Marathon in 1988 and 1989, something no American woman has repeated since. She had run in numerous other distance races on the track and road, in the United States and abroad.