Boulder Sports Hall of Fame to induct five athletes

One World Running will host the second annual Boulder Sports Hall of Fame induction this Saturday. The fundraising event was founded by Michael Sandrock, who started One World Running in 1986 (and is the running columnist for the Daily Camera). The organization collects gently used running shoes, athletic apparel medicine and school supplies for people in Third World countries.

Sandrock receives shoes and gear for the organization from some of the world’s top athletes, he said, and many of them happen to live and train in Boulder. Last year, he decided that a hall of fame gathering would foster a greater sense of community among athletes from all disciplines, as well as pay tribute to Boulder’s athletic legacy.

“Boulder is the center of endurance training in the world,” Sandrock said. “We have the best triathletes, the best runners, it turns out the best cyclists are here too, and the climbers.”

This year’s inductees are cyclist Marianne Martin, triathlete Simon Lessing, runner Lorraine Moller and climbers Roger Briggs and Jim Erickson. Ruth Wright and Al Bartlett, who are known for their preservation of Boulder’s foothills and the Flatirons, will also be recognized at the ceremony. Wright, who served on the Colorado House of Representatives, formulated a height limit for Boulder buildings of 55 feet to preserve the mountain view from the valley and helped pass Boulder’s first open space tax. Bartlett was responsible for the “Blue Line,” which helped prevent development in the foothills.

Here’s a primer on the athletes being honored this weekend:

Marianne Martin, cycling

Marianne Martin competed in the first women’s Tour De France in 1984, winning the race in 29 hours, 39 minutes and 2 seconds.

Martin, who moved to Boulder in 1979 to train for cycling races, now owns Real Life Portraits, a photojournalism studio in Boulder. Martin still rides her bike occasionally and has taken up trailrunning.

“It’s a great honor and it’s great to be in such a sporting community,” Martin said of her induction, adding that it’s easy to maintain an active lifestyle because she’s surrounded by other active Boulderites.

Simon Lessing, triathlon

Simon Lessing was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1971. Lessing took up swimming, sailing, running and duathlon at a young age. He competed in his first triathlon in 1985 with a borrowed bike and never looked back. He moved to England at age 18, where he lived until he moved to Boulder in 2002. During his career, Lessing has won four triathlon world titles, and dozens of other titles in Europe and across the world for triathlons and running.

Lessing now owns Boulder Coaching, a multi-sport training company he founded in Boulder in 2008.

Lessing said he was humbled to be inducted because of the sheer number of talented athletes in the area.

“I always say to people, ‘You can’t come to Boulder with a big head or with an attitude, because there’s always going to be someone who’s done way more athletically than you have,'” Lessing said. “To be inducted is an absolute honor because you are surrounded by world-class athletes.”

Lorraine Moller, running

Lorraine Moller, a native of Putaruru, New Zealand, ran in the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon in 1984, finishing fifth in Los Angeles. In Seoul in 1988, she placed 33rd before finally medaling in Barcelona in 1992, taking home a bronze medal at the age of 37. In 1996, Moller competed in Atlanta and became the only woman to have competed in all four of the first Olympic women’s marathons.

Moller is also a three-time winner of the Avon world championships and winner of the 1984 Boston Marathon.

She now works with the Lydiard Foundation to help spread the ideas of her mentor Arthur Lydiard, who died in 2004.

Roger Briggs and Jim Erickson, climbing

Roger Briggs founded the Boulder Climbing Community in 2010 with a mission of connecting climbers and land managers, and protecting climbing areas like Eldorado Canyon, the Flatirons and Boulder Canyon. Briggs’ climbing achievements date back to the 1960s; he has climbed the 1,000-foot Diamond face on Longs Peak more than 100 times. Briggs taught physics and coached the cross-country team at Fairview High School for several decades.

Jim Erickson has been climbing since 1962, when he was a 13-year-old spelunker trying to master the art of rappelling. Erickson made a name for himself on gutsy early climbs in Eldorado Canyon and the clean climbing ethic he lived by — which still includes climbing without chalk — he’s warmly referred to as one of climbing’s pioneers.

–Follow Sarah Kuta on Twitter: @SarahKuta