Marla Runyan became the first legally blind athlete to make the United States Olympic team and compete in the Olympics when she finished 8th in the 1500-meter race at the 2000 Summer Games. For her career, Runyan won five track & field gold medals at the Paralympics (100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, long jump and pentathlon), one gold medal at the Pan American Games (1500 meters), seven U.S. Road Championships and three straight 5000 meter titles at the USATF National Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In 2002, Runyan finished as the top American runner at the New York Marathon and, in 2006, won the USATF National Marathon Championship. Runyan also competed in the 2004 Olympics.

Runyan was born in Santa Maria, California and attended San Diego State, where she began competing in several track & field disciplines, including the high jump, javelin throw, long jump, 100-meter hurdles, 200-meter and 800-meter races. In 2001, Runyan released her autobiography titled "No Finish Line: My Life As I See It." In 2013, Runyan went to work for the Perkins School for the Blind as a teacher and ambassador. In 2014, Runyan began coaching with her husband at Northeastern University.