November, 1980: UI cross country's Marianne Dickerson placed first at the AIAW state meet.November 1982: In the first-ever Big Ten women's cross country championship meet, Marianne Dickerson earned first-team All-Big Ten honors with a sixth-place finish.

[2] in 1983 after also earning All-American status in the 10,000m, placing third, at NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

[3] Against the advice of her coach, she entered a Missouri race, a portion of the inaugural Avon Marathon series.

Winning the race qualified her for the series championship in Los Angeles, where she placed second behind Julie Brown.

[5] While Grete Waitz was a clear winner, Dickerson was in fourth place behind Rosa Mota and Raisa Smekhnova, that group having already dispatched stars Joyce Smith, Laura Fogli and Christa Vahlensieck.