The finish line of each year's Boston Marathon was as much astarting line for Marja Bakker.
As the director of administration of the Boston AthleticAssociation, which puts on the nation's marquee marathon, Ms. Bakkerbegan preparing for the following year's event as soon as each racefinished.
'It really is a year-round affair,' she told the Globe in 1990.
Ms. Bakker, whose organizational skills touched every aspect ofthe races she put on, died of cancer at her home in Medford onSaturday. She was 59 and had been the only woman to serve aspresident of the association's Running Club.
'It's a loss and a void that's going to be hard to fill for thesport as a whole,' said Guy Morse, the association's executivedirector. 'She was just someone who became part of the fabric of therunning community both locally and nationally.'
Kathy Nary of Newbury, who is on the executive committee forwomen's long-distance running with USA Track & Field, said thecommittee decided Monday to name the annual Contributor of the Yearaward after Ms. Bakker, who received the honor last year. The firstMarja Bakker Award will be presented next month.
'Whether it be sweeping the floor or organizing the race, itdidn't matter, she did it,' Nary said of Ms. Bakker. 'She didn't careif she got recognition or not.'
'She was literally the first one who would show up at an event andthe last one to leave,' said Michelle LeBrun, who with her husband,Bob Fitzgerald, publishes New England Runner. 'Her dedication to whatshe was working on at that particular time was unbelievable.'
A runner herself, Ms. Bakker joined the BAA Running Club in 1978,after moving to the area from Canada. She placed 30th among women inthe Boston Marathon that year with a time of 3 hours, 28 seconds. Thefollowing year, she was 29th, running her best time of 2 hours, 57minutes, 15 seconds.
In 1982, four years after joining, she became the president of therunning club and remains the only woman to have held that post in theclub's 119-year history, according the BAA's website.
Two years later, Ms. Bakker was the first woman elected to theassociation's board of directors, a position she held until becomingadministrator of the Boston Marathon in 1987.
For spectators, the marathon begins and ends on Patriots Day. ForMs. Bakker, the duties never stopped.
'I don't think people realize how much goes on behind the scenes,'she said in the 1990 Globe interview about her job.
'I have to be aware of everything that goes on in the office,' shesaid. 'From making sure there are pens and paper to certificates ofinsurance, to making sure there is food for the pre- and post-raceparties. I don't think people understand the volume we're dealingwith. For example, ordering 15,000 bags of potato chips for theparties.'
'For her, the task was important because it meant something to thepeople who meant something to her,' Thomas S. Grilk, president of theassociation's board of governors, said last night. 'She felt apowerful sense of responsibility to the runners.'
Marianna Hillegonda Bakker was born in Vlaardingen, theNetherlands, and she had also lived in the United Kingdom, accordingto the BAA. Ms. Bakker, who was always known as Marja, told the Globethat the move to the Boston area was prompted by her then-husband'sjob change. The marriage ended in divorce.
She began living in Medford in the late 1970s. As she turned toorganizing races, she became deeply involved in ensuring that eachevent reflected her attention to detail.
Ms. Bakker was never really far from her duties. Nary said shecontinued to work on her laptop computer at home and in the hospitalduring the past few years, when she was ill. On nights off, she likedto entertain friends at her Medford home, where Ms. Bakker - who hadlong been a vegetarian - would prepare meals for her guests and becontent to take a quiet role in the social gathering.
LeBrun said Ms. Bakker's brother and two sisters - Dr. BertBakker, Bertina van Tienen, and Hilda vander Kuil - were with herwhen she died. The siblings live in the Netherlands, as does Ms.Bakker's mother, Hillegonda Bakker. Services for Ms. Bakker will beprivate.
In addition to her positions with the BAA, she had served aspresident of the New England branch of USA Track & Field.
The number of runners in the Boston Marathon grew dramaticallyduring her years as administrator, from about 6,400 in 1987 to nearly22,500 this year, according to the BAA website.
'We get thousands of calls,' she told the Globe in 1990. 'I feellike the phone is stuck to my face.'
The Boston Marathon often fell on her birthday. One of her finalaccomplishments was helping the BAA successfully bid to host the 2008US Olympic team trials for the women's marathon, which will be heldon April 20 - her birthday.
The only detail upon which Ms. Bakker did not lavish attention wasthe importance of her own contribution. For her, the labor was itsown reward.
'The marathon has a touch of magic to it,' she said. 'I love myjob and I love the sport.'
