Joan Ullyot

Joan Ullyot (nee Lamb, July 1, 1940 – June 18, 2021) was an American physician, author, and runner. She was one of the key figures in successfully lobbying for a women's marathon in the Olympic Games. Ullyot herself won ten marathons, and won the masters category at the Boston Marathon in 1984. and a project director at the Research Institute of Laboratory Medicine at the Pacific Medical Center. In 1976, she published the book Women's Running, in which she countered common arguments that women were not built for running long distances. It was one of the first books discussing this topic. and an updated edition of her first book, The New Women's Running. She also wrote a column in Runner's World magazine, and consulted and lectured on women's nutrition and fitness.

When the IOC program committee asked for "further studies on the physiological and psychological effects of competitive marathon running on women" in April 1980, Ullyot compiled medical evidence to make the affirmative case for including the marathon in the Olympics. In response, the IOC program committee approved the marathon at their next meeting in February 1981. In 1977, she won the women's category of the first Bloomsday Run in Spokane.

Awards and honors Ullyot was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2019.

Personal life In 1965 Joan Lamb married fellow physician Daniel Ullyot. They had two sons and were divorced in 1976. In 1990, Ullyot married Dr. Charles E. Becker. She died in Palo Alto, California, in 2021, aged 80 years.

Books Women's Running (World Publications, 1976) Running free: a book for women runners and their friends (Putnam, 1980) The New Women’s Running (Stephen Greene Press, 1984)