Garry Gribble’s Running Sports
Featured Runner

Cindy Cameron is an Ottawa, Kansas native. She is a single mother of 3 boys, ages 14, 11, and 7, and teaches eighth grade English at Westridge Middle School in the Shawnee Mission School District. She has been running most of her life and has a fond recollection of winning blue ribbons in the 50 and 75 yard dashes in grade school. Throughout junior high, she ran the open 440, “Yes, I’m old, everything was in yards back then” said Cindy, running 61 seconds flat in the 8th grade and 59 seconds in the 9th grade. At the end of her 9th grade track year, she volunteered to run the 2 mile setting a school record for Ottawa High on the first try. A week later, at the State championships, she placed 3rd in the 2 mile and 6th in the mile for her second attempt at both races. This was the end sprinting for Cindy. In college, Cindy ran for KU for 2 years but eventually ended up at Emporia State and may still hold the Emporia State school record in the indoor mile.

High School:
• 5A State Champion, Sophomore
• State record holder in the mile, 2 mile and Cross Country, Sophomore
• TAC Nationals, 3rd place in the 1500, 4:39
• AAU Nationals, 2nd place in the 3000, 10:20

College:

• NAIA National Cross Country, 9th place, Emporia State
• NAIA National Indoor Track and Field, National indoor mile, 2nd place, Emporia State

After college, she began competing in road races on occasion, running a 1:21 half marathon at the Hospital Hill on her first attempt. At age 30, her 5K PR was 17:21 and a 22:05 at the Trolley Run, which is one of her favorite races to this day. After taking off over five years from running to have her two oldest sons, she came back at age 38 to set a Kansas age group record in the half marathon in 1:23:29. After having her youngest son, she returned to running at age 41 and placed 8th overall in the Virginia Beach Half Marathon with a time of 1:24:10. Also at 41, she set a state age group record in the 15K, current age group (45-49), and has state records in the half (1:27:47), the 12K (49:05), and the 8K (31:22). Cindy competed in the USATF Masters National Track and Field Championships with a second place finish in the 5K with a time of 18:21 and a fourth place finish in the 1500 with a time of 4:51.

Cindy still enjoys running after all of these years but will never forget the thrill of winning her first race in grade school as well as winning her first Kansas state title in state record time. Those memories are from long, long ago but will never leave her. We are so proud to have Cindy on the Garry Gribble’s Running Team. She is a force and an inspiration to all of us!