Alberto Salazar is an American former track coach and long-distance runner. Born in Cuba, Salazar immigrated to the United States as a child with his family, living in Connecticut and then in Wayland, Massachusetts, where Salazar competed in track and field in high school. Salazar won the New York City Marathon three times in the early 1980s, and won the 1982 Boston Marathon in a race known as the "Duel in the Sun". He set American track records for 5,000 m and 10,000 m in 1982. Salazar was later the head coach of the Nike Oregon Project. He won the IAAF Coaching Achievement Award in 2013.
Steve Scott is an American former track athlete and one of the greatest mile runners in American history. The silver medalist in the 1500 meters at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki in 1983, Scott owns the U.S. indoor record in the 2000 meters (4:58.6-1981). He held the American outdoor mile record for more than 26 years and also is the former American indoor record holder in the same event. Track & Field News ranked Scott #1 in the U.S. on 10 occasions, and 11 times during his career he was ranked in the top ten in the world by T&FN. Additionally, he participated for the US team at the 1984 Olympics. He finished 5th in the 1500 meter run at the 1988 Olympics held in Korea. Scott was also an Olympian on the 1980 Olympics team which was not allowed to go to Moscow. He ran the sub four-minute mile on 136 occasions in his career, more than any other runner in history.
Frank Charles Shorter is an American former long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His Olympic success, along with the achievements of other American runners, is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States during the 1970s.
Gerald "Gerry" Paul Lindgren is an American track and field runner who set many long-standing high school and national records in the United States. In 1965, Lindgren and Billy Mills both broke the world record for the six-mile run when they finished in an extremely rare tie at the AAU National Championships, both running exactly 27:11.6. Lindgren went on to win a record 11 NCAA collegiate championships with Washington State University.
Henry Rono was a Kenyan track and field athlete who specialised in various long-distance running events. Although he never competed at the Olympics, Rono is remembered as one of the most prolific collegiate competitors in the history of track in the United States, as well as being the former record holder for the 3000 metres steeplechase for over a decade. Rono also set the world record for the 5000 metres twice: once in 1978, then again in 1981.
Rodolfo ("Rudy") Chapa is a retired American track and field athlete who specialized in the middle to long-distance events. He set the US high school national record for the 10,000 meters when he ran 28:32 in 1976. Chapa was one of the most versatile distance runners, with a remarkable competitive range from the 1500 meters to the marathon. He is the son of Mexican immigrants. His father Rodolfo Sr. moved to the US as a mechanic through the Bracero program.
Gabe Jennings is an American Olympian and semi-retired middle-distance runner. As a student at Madison East High School in Madison, Wisconsin, Jennings won nine state titles in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) and, as of 2022, still holds the 1600 meter record in the WIAA Division 1 with his 1997 time of 4:04.97. At Stanford University, he was an All-America athlete ten times and an NCAA champion four times. He qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics as a college junior but was eliminated during the semi-finals.
Doris Elaine Brown Heritage is a retired American runner. She won the International Cross Country Championships five times in a row, in 1967–1971. She collected silver medals in the 800 m at the Pan American Games in 1967 and 1971. She placed fifth in the event at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Brown Heritage briefly held the world record in the 3000 m in 1971. She was the first woman to clock a sub five-minute mile indoors. After retiring from competitions she had a long career as a running coach, and helped prepare the national women's team to the 1984 Summer Olympics. Brown Heritage was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, National Track Coaches Hall of Fame and National Distance Running Hall of Fame.
Jon Peter Anderson, is a lifelong Eugene, Oregon resident. He was a publisher and runner best known for winning the 1973 Boston Marathon. Anderson was a competitive long-distance runner from 1966 to 1984. He represented the United States as a member of the 1972 US Olympic track and field team.
Stanley Floyd is a retired track and field sprinter from the United States. He was a 1979 graduate of Dougherty High School in Albany, Georgia. In 1980, he was considered one of the favorites for the 100m title but was denied his chance due to the United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Matthew Centrowitz Sr. is a two-time Olympic distance runner, a four-time United States champion, a collegiate All-American, a nationally renowned high school athlete, and a collegiate cross country and track coach.
Barton Williams is an American former hurdler. He attended California Polytechnic State University from 1975 to 1979. Williams is one of Cal Poly's all-time greatest track and field athletes.
Chris Derrick is an American distance runner who won 3 consecutive US Cross Country Championships in 2013–15. He attended Stanford University, where he earned 14 All-American honors and holds an American junior record in the 5000 meters.
Frances Anne "Francie" Larrieu Smith is an American track and field athlete. She was the flagbearer at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for the United States of America. Larrieu Smith was the third female American athlete to make five American Olympic teams, behind the six of fencer Jan York-Romary and Track and Field's Willye White. The feat was later equaled by basketball player Teresa Edwards, track and field's Gail Devers, cyclist/speedskater Chris Witty and swimmer Dara Torres. After one of the longest elite careers on record, she retired from that level of competition.
Willie James Smith III was an American athlete who was the national champion 400 metres runner in 1979-80, and a gold medal winner at the 1984 Olympics in the 4 × 400 m relay.
Caroline Walker is a former American long-distance runner from Oregon who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world best in the marathon on February 28, 1970 with a time of 3:02:53 at the inaugural Trail's End Marathon in Seaside, Oregon.
Julie Ann Brown is retired distance runner. She won the IAAF World Cross Country Championship in 1975 and represented the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics in the women's marathon.
Angela BizzarriPflugrath is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and a former American distance runner. She competed for the University of Illinois (2006–2010) and won three NCAA national championships: in Cross Country, as well as in the 5000 meters (outdoor) and 3000 meters (indoor). As an Illini she earned nine All-American honours and five Big Ten Conference titles. She also holds Illini records in the 1500 meters, 3000 meters, 5000 meters (outdoor), 5000 meters (indoor), the mile, and, in Cross Country, the 6000 meters.
Garry Brian Bjorklund is an American middle- and long-distance runner. He represented the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics in the 10,000 meters. As a high schooler, he set a Minnesota state record for the mile run which lasted 39 years. At the University of Minnesota, he won the 1971 national championship in the six-mile run, and won numerous conference championships in various disciplines. Following his 1976 Summer Olympics appearance, Bjorklund became a marathon runner, and set a national age group record in 1980.
John Gregorek is an American former middle-distance runner who competed in the Summer Olympics in 1980 (boycotted) and 1984. His son, John Gregorek Jr., is also a competitive middle-distance runner, who competed in the 2017 World Championships.
