Karen Cosgrove is an Ohio women’s running pioneer. Among the very best female distance runners to come from Ohio, Karen placed 7th in the 1979 Boston Marathon. She won or placed in numerous Avon Running Global Women’s Circuit events, the series that eventually convinced the IOC to add the women’s marathon events to the Olympics.  Placing second at the Columbus Marathon in 1983, she became the first local Olympic Trials qualifier, and raced in both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Marathon trials. Prior to that, Karen also won the first Columbus Marathon.  Karen worked with the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society to develop the Team in Training program, training ordinary people to run their first marathons, and in nearly two decades of coaching has guided more than 9,000 people across the finish line while helping raise more than $10 million for charity. Karen has run more than 105 marathons without injury.  In 2008 Karen founded “Miles That Matter,” a sport training program giving runners not only feet to run but wings to ‘fly’ with her ‘can-do’ attitude.  Karen continues to run and coach athletes of all ages and abilities.  Karen is also the only member of the Dayton Distance Running Hall of Fame to also be a member of the Cincinnati Running Hall of Fame!