Herbert Steffny (born 5 September 1953 in Trier) is a former German long distance track event runner and prominent physical trainer.
Herbert Steffny (born 5 September 1953 in Trier) is a former German long distance track event runner and prominent physical trainer.
After modest successes as a youngster in long distance running, Steffny gave up the competitive running while studying biology, and returned to competition in the older than 30 category.
His first victory came at the Echternach Marathon in 1983, and in the following year he would place third in the New York City Marathon.
Steffny was the German champion in the 1985 marathon run, 1987 German champion in 10,000 meter run and 1989 German Champion in cross country. In addition came the title in the 25 kilometer road running and fell running. He won the Eurocross competition in Luxembourg in 1988. [1]
He was the first West German marathon runner to hold a medal in a major international event, as he placed 3rd in the 1986 European Championships in Athletics in Stuttgart Germany with a time of 2:11:30.
He competed for Post-Jahn Freiburg. In his active career (officially particularly from the 80's), he was 1.79 meters tall and weighed 67 kg. He wrote the bestselling book on distance running in the German language reading market entitled Das große Laufbuch.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  West Germany | ||||
| 1984 | New York Marathon | New York City, United States | 3rd | 2:16:22 |
| 1985 | Frankfurt Marathon | Frankfurt, West Germany | 1st | 2:12:12 |
| 1986 | Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | 5th | 2:11:17 |
| 1989 | Frankfurt Marathon | Frankfurt, West Germany | 1st | 2:13:51 |
| Munich Marathon | Munich, West Germany | 1st | 2:11:30 | |
| Representing Germany | ||||
| 1991 | Frankfurt Marathon | Frankfurt, Germany | 1st | 2:13:45 |
| Pittsburgh Marathon | Pittsburgh, United States | 1st | 2:16:21 | |
Herbert Steffny has a degree in biology and became a running trainer after his sports career. Since 1998, he has published numerous books (among others the German best seller Das große Laufbuch) about running.
He has been a business leader of a company for running seminars, training and trips in the Titisee-Neustadt in the Black Forest. He looked after the former Federal Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer by his marathon training.
Steffny works as a co-commentator for ARD television and presents the live feed in the city marathons of Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne and Mainz.
Also his older brother, the German Spiridon running magazine editor Manfred Steffny, was also a successful marathon runner.
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