Leading up to race day in Eugene, there were few things Carrie Dimoff hadn’t done.
By age 38, she’d run Division 1 track at Princeton, competed internationally in Scotland, Trinidad and Doha for the legendary Bowerman Track Club, landed a marquee job at Nike and even become a mother of two boys, ages 11 and 13.
But there was one thing she knew she had to do before eventually untying her competitive running shoes for the final time. She’d run 10 marathons in her career but had yet to win one. So when she approached the starting line in Eugene on May 1, she did so with a lofty yet attainable goal in mind.
26.2 miles later, she finally did it.
Dimoff took first in the women’s race of the Eugene Marathon, posting a finishing time of 2:43:51 and completing a lifelong personal goal to the tune of a roaring crowd at Hayward Field. She felt a mix of feelings, from shock and jubilation to great relief.
“Most of all I think I was just really relieved to have done it,” Dimoff said. “I think sometimes you go into a race, and you’re really excited and really committed to a specific goal, but especially with a marathon, by the time you finish, I think you’re just proud of yourself for finishing.”
Dimoff and her Bowerman teammate Kaitlin Peale got off to a hot start. The two ran side by side for the first half of the race, leading the pack by a comfortable margin. But around halfway, the two separated. Peale’s pace faded slightly, and Dimoff, exhausted yet determined, kept on.
When leading the race on her own, Dimoff faced her greatest challenges of the day. There were no distractions, and she was alone with her thoughts, for better or worse.
“Even though I was in the lead, my legs hurt really badly in the last few miles, and I was thinking to myself ‘I just don’t even know if I can continue,’” Dimoff said. “Even though it seems silly to consider dropping out when you’re actively winning a race, those thoughts did cross my mind because it was just so painful.”
Her husband and former coach, John Dimoff, followed her for most of the race on his bike, hoping to add encouragement.
“I don’t know why I ever ran a marathon,” he said. “Riding is much easier.”
A former Oregon track runner and marathoner himself, he understands the physical and mental toll these races can take on you.
“Marathons have a funny way of catching up with you,” Dimoff said. “If you’re not feeling good, it can start to have a real negative effect, and you can find yourself going backwards real fast. But Carrie was looking pretty good.”
After rounding the Hayward track’s final lap and breaking the tape, Dimoff found a replacement for her feelings of doubt: disbelief.
“Just that feeling of ‘I can’t believe I won,’” Dimoff said, recalling her thoughts from the finish line. “I was so excited that after all of these tries, after so many marathons, I could finally be able to break the tape and say that I won one.”
With the career Dimoff’s had, it’s easy to understand her shock and awe. Her road to today has taken a series of turns, some of which nearly guided her away from competitive racing altogether.
When she left Princeton, she thought her running career might be over.
“When I came out of college I didn’t really have ambitions to continue competing,” Dimoff said.
Moving to Portland out of school to work with Nike, she met John, who then coaxed her back into running. Slowly, the two worked together, John taking a coaching role, and Carrie edging back toward competitive running.
It didn’t take long for Dimoff to get her legs back. Under John’s coaching, she competed in the 2016 Olympic Trials in the Steeplechase and Marathon, marking one of the bigger breaks of Dimoff’s career.
After competing in the trials and garnering attention from the professional circuit, she found herself training with the Bowerman Track Club, where she trains today.
Despite a full-time work schedule, a family and all the complications of adult life, she’s still able to swing the rigorous training schedule with the club. She and her teammates wake up early, training before heading into their respective jobs, three days a week. On other days, she runs independently.
It’s a handful to say the least. But she and her family wouldn’t have it any other way. It inspires them all to be the best at what they do.
“I look at Carrie as a good example of what can be done if you really want to do it,” her husband said. “You can have all of these things, and if you have the right environment and the people around you are supportive, you can have family, children and a job and athletics at a very high level. She’s a role model for a lot of people.”
