The Club

Founded in 1948 as an athletic club for girls, Liberty Athletic Club developed into a running club for girls and women of all ages. During the pre-title IX years, it provided young women with an opportunity to participate in track and field in local, regional, national, and occasionally, international track and field meets. Some of these young women developed into elite athletes including Olympic medal winners.

In the 1970’s mothers bringing their daughters to practice began to run on the track as well. Over the next several decades the club’s membership base expanded to not only post collegiate women but also women in their 30’s and older.

Today Liberty Athletic Club has a youth group, coached by one time youth member Christine Anderson, a former internationally ranked race walker, and an adult group coached by Cathy Utzschneider, Ed.D. M.B.A, professor of goal setting at Boston College, national ranked in the mile 45-49 age group, 5 times national masters champion in track and cross-country, owner of MOVE a performance coaching practice.

The youth members compete in cross-country in the fall season, winter and summer track meets, and the occasional road race. The youth group aims to introduce girls to the sport of running including track and field and to provide them with an opportunity to participate in healthy and friendly competition.

The adult group is comprised of women from multiple age groups from the early 20’s through the 70’s. Most prefer road races from the 5k through the marathon. Among our membership is a long time member who has run all 31 of the Tufts 10k races and another who has a streak of 31 consecutive finishes in the Boston Marathon. A few prefer the track and run distances from 60 meters to the 5k.

Over the years we have had members who have set world records on the track in distances from the 400m to the mile. We also participate in cross-country and frequently field teams for New England Cross-Country Championships and the National Masters Cross-Country Championships. Our members, who come from the Greater Boston area, can be found running in many local road races.

What is unusual about Liberty today is that it offers not just support and understanding of what it is to be female, an athlete, and to balance training and competition with studies, careers, and/or families. It offers generations of support -- a mentoring, intergenerational culture of all ages and abilities.