Don Norman (born 21 October 1958) is an American middle-distance and long-distance running athlete who was a winner or top finisher in multiple US marathons. [1]
He was the 1985 winner of Grandma's Marathon from Two Harbors, Minnesota to Duluth when he ran the second-fastest time of an American that year: 2:11:08. [2] [3] [4]
A few months later, with a sponsorship from New Balance, he ran the New York Marathon, he battled with Orlando Pizzolato, Hussein Ahmed Salah and Pat Petersen to finish fourth, netting the 27-year-old $15,000 in prize winnings. [5]
In 1985, he was fourth in the Sydney Marathon in Australia. He also finished second in the Old Kent River Bank Run 25K with a 1:18:18. Norman was also the winner of the Charlotte Observer Marathon (1984), the Charleston Distance Run (1986, beating out Bill Rodgers, and 1988), [6] and the Johnstown Marathon (1999) in Pennsylvania.
Norman ran the Olympic Trials Marathon in 1988. He had run the previous trials race (in 1984), but had dropped out. [7] In his return to the trials, he stayed in, kept with the leaders, and finished sixth. [8] The same year, he was a top finisher at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run.
After several top finishes at the Pittsburgh Marathon, Norman, a native Pennsylvanian, was dismayed to see the race fall on hard times and disappear. In the late 2000s he helped lead a group of organizers and who brought the race back to life. [9]
The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishers in 2019 and 98,247 applicants for the 2017 race. Along with the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, it is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the United States and is one of the World Marathon Majors.
Joan Benoit Samuelson is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon for 32 years after winning the race in 1985. Her time at the Boston Marathon was the fastest time by an American woman in that race for 28 years. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.
William Henry Rodgers is an American runner, Olympian, and former record holder in the marathon. Rodgers is best known for his four victories in both the Boston Marathon, including three straight from 1978 to 1980, and 4 straight wins in the New York City Marathon, between 1976 and 1979.
Craig Steven Virgin is an American distance runner. He was born in Belleville, Illinois, and grew up near Lebanon, Illinois. While in high school, Virgin won 5 state championships as well as setting the national outdoor high school 2-mile record of 8:40.9. Additionally, Virgin held the Illinois Boys Cross Country all-time state championship record for 47 years, running a 13:50.6 in 1972, a record that stood until November 9, 2019, when Josh Methner of John Hersey High School ran a 13:49.86. Virgin was Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1973.
Donald Franklin Kardong is a noted runner and author from the United States. He finished fourth in the 1976 Olympic marathon in Montreal.
Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego is a Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 10,000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the silver medalist in the same race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has a personal record of 30:38.35 minutes for that event and her 5000 metres best of 14:30.42 minutes makes her the second fastest Kenyan woman for the distance.
The Pittsburgh Marathon is an annual road marathon usually held on the first Sunday in May in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States, first held in 1985. The hilly course runs through the city center and crosses each of Pittsburgh's three main rivers. Generally, over 3,000 runners finish the marathon each year. The weekend's events also include a half marathon, marathon relay, and 5K.
Kim Merritt is a former American long-distance runner who competed in the marathon. Her career coincided with the development of women's running in the United States and she was at the forefront of distance running in the mid-1970s.
Gary M. Fanelli is a long-distance runner from the United States who represented American Samoa in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Fanelli's 2:25:35 performance at the Olympics is an American Samoan national record. Known for running in costume, he has been called "the crown prince of road racing", "the king of costume", and "road-racing's longest-running joke".
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.
Martha "Marty" Cooksey is an American former long-distance runner who competed in events ranging from 5000 meters to the marathon. She achieved her marathon best time of 2:35:42 hours at the American Olympic Trials in 1984.
Janice Ettle is an American middle-distance and long-distance runner, winner of major marathons and top finisher in dozens of road races, as well as a competitor at the 1987 World Marathon Cup and fourth-place finisher at the Havana, Cuba, 1991 Pan American Games women's marathon. Ettle was a five-time competitor at the US Olympic Marathon Trials.
Nell Rojas is an American triathlete, long-distance runner, coach, business owner, and winner of the 2019 Grandma's Marathon. She also competed at the 2020 USA Olympic Marathon Trials and finished in 9th place.
Fred Torneden is an American mid- and long-distance runner who won several road racing victories in the 1980s and set the American record for the 20-mile distance in 1984. He competed for the United States at the first IAAF World Marathon Cup in 1985. He later became a coach and a pastor. He served as a children's pastor at Rock Hills Church in Manhattan, Kansas while continuing to run competitively at the masters level.
David Kimani Mungai is a Kenyan mid- and long-distance runner.
Debbie Mueller is an American middle and long-distance runner who won many major road races in the 1980s and 1990s, including the Dublin Marathon.
Serkalem Biset Abrha, also known as Abrha Serkalem Biset, is a runner from Ethiopia who competes in long distance running and has won several major international marathons.
Pasca Jerono is a Kenyan-born American middle- and long-distance runner best known for winning the 2014 Grandma's Marathon in 2:33:45.
Joseph Kamau is a former professional long-distance runner from Kenya who finished second in the 1997 Boston Marathon and third in the 1996 New York City Marathon.
Yihunlish Delelecha is an Ethiopian-American distance runner who was a member of the 1998 World Athletics Cross Country Championship silver medal-winning team for Ethiopia.