Lynn Bjorklund

{{Short description|American long-distance runner}}{{Infobox athlete

| name = Lynn Bjorklund

| birth_place = Los Alamos, New Mexico

| national_team = USA

| citizenship = American

| occupation = Park Ranger

| years_active = 1975-1982

| country = USA

| sport = long-distance runner

| pb = 1975: U.S. high school record in the 3000 meter run, a record which stood until 2013. 1981: the female course record for the Pikes Peak Marathon.

}}

Lynn Bjorklund is an American retired long-distance runner originally from Los Alamos, New Mexico. In 1975, she set the U.S. high school record in the 3000 meter run, a record which stood until 2013. In 1981, she also set the female course record for the Pikes Peak Marathon. As of 2010 she was employed as a park ranger.{{cite web |url=http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22609 |title=Girls' 3,000m, Boys' DMR Highlight HS Races at Penn |author=Bloom, Marc |accessdate=October 6, 2011}}{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703960004575427561884547420 |title=Making Marathons Even Tougher |author=Helliker, Kevin |date=August 17, 2010 |accessdate=October 6, 2011 |work=Wall Street Journal}}

Bjorklund rapidly gained national prominence after she won the girls' division of the National Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Cross Country Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.{{cite news |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1974/01/07/616967/faces-in-the-crowd |title=Faces In the Crowd |date=January 7, 1974 |accessdate=September 4, 2016 |work=Sports Illustrated}} She won consecutive titles at the USA Cross Country Championships in 1974 and 1975.{{cite web|url=http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/USAXC/women.asp |title=USA Cross Country Champions - Women |accessdate=October 7, 2011 |work=USA Track and Field}} She came in seventh place at the World Cross Country Championships in 1976.

On October 8, 1997, Bjorklund was camping with her brother in the Pecos Wilderness near Santa Fe, New Mexico when the two witnessed a plane crash. The pilot and his passenger were burned and injured. In a rescue attempt, Bjorklund covered {{Convert|18|mi|km}} of rugged terrain on foot in less than three hours. She guided two helicopters to the crash site, and the two men were airlifted to safety.{{cite news |title=A Run For Their Lives |author=Maynard, Lee |date=1998 |work=Reader's Digest}}