Jan Merrill

Janice "Jan" Melbourne Merrill is a retired American runner. She was the dominant long-distance runner of the middle 1970s, a notable front runner, her uniform with the large "M" on her chest would usually break away to an insurmountable lead in domestic meets. She was equally untouchable in self-promotion or dealing with the media, often deferring to her coach, Norm Higgins. At various points in time she held the American record in the 1500 meters during the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. She lost other record opportunities because the only times she could get a decent race in the United States was against men.