Kate O'Neill is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 long-distance runner from Milton

Milton, Massachusetts

Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. She represented the United States in the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

, competing in the 10,000 metres. Currently, she is primarily a marathoner.

O'Neill ran cross country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

 and track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 at Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, where she was a three-time NCAA runner-up in Cross Country, 5000 m (indoor), and 10,000 m (outdoor). O'Neill earned All-America

All-America

An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

n honors in both Cross Country and Outdoor track. Her twin sister, Laura, was also an All-American at Yale.

In 2004, after setting personal records in the 10,000 m and 5000 m, O'Neill finished third in the Olympic 10,000 m trials with a time of 32:07.25. This qualified her for the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Athens, she finished 21st with a time of 32:24.04.

O'Neill later turned her focus to longer distance events, with an emphasis on the marathon. She was coached by Terrence Mahon

Terrence Mahon

Terrence Mahon is an American distance running coach. Mahon coaches many notable long distance and middle distance runners, including Olympians Deena Kastor, Anna Pierce, and Jen Rhines. Mahon also coached Ryan Hall for five years....

, who coaches notable American marathoners Deena Kastor

Deena Kastor

Deena Michelle Kastor is an American long-distance runner. She holds American records in the marathon, half-marathon, and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece...

, Ryan Hall

Ryan Hall (runner)

Ryan Hall is an American long distance runner. He won the marathon at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials and placed tenth in the Olympic marathon in Beijing. He holds the U.S. record in the half marathon . With his half marathon record time, he became the first U.S...

, and Jen Rhines

Jennifer Rhines

Jennifer Rhines is an American long-distance runner who competes in track, cross country and road running events. She has competed in three different Summer Olympics....

. She had a strong marathon debut at the Chicago Marathon

Chicago Marathon

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is a major marathon held yearly in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alongside the Boston, New York, London and Berlin Marathons, it is one of the five World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also an IAAF Gold Label race...

, finishing third with a time of 2:36:15. In January 2008, she won the 2008 USA half-marathon championship (1:11:57) at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon. O'Neill was a favorite at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, but a knee injury forced her to drop out at mile 21.

In 2009 O'Neill trained in Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...

, and was the first American finisher at the 2009 London Marathon

London Marathon

The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...

, with a time of 2:34:48.

Personal

O'Neill married former Stanford Cardinal

Stanford Cardinal

The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.-Nickname and mascot history:Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams...

 runner Adam Tenforde on November 20, 2010. The couple adopted Taz, a 3 year-old abandoned poodle-Maltese mix, in the summer of 2010.

Professional

In April, 2010 O'Neill began a part-time position with Focus-N-Fly to share share her running expertise with recreational runners across the country. She moved on to an expanded in Fall of 2010 and now manages the customer experience for the organization.

External links

• Kate O'Neill's Journal - O'Neill's journal, hosted by New York Road Runners
  New York Road Runners
  New York Road Runners , founded in 1958 with 47 members, has grown into the foremost running organization, with a membership of 40,000. NYRR conducts more than 100 events each year, including races, classes, clinics, and lectures...
  
  
• Kate O'Neill's blog on Running Times - O'Neill's blog on Running Times