Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the 5,000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5,000 m.
Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi is a retired American long distance runner. He is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and finished in fourth place in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He won the 2009 New York City Marathon on November 1, 2009, and the 2014 Boston Marathon on April 21, 2014, becoming the first American man to win each race since 1982 and 1983, respectively. Keflezighi is a graduate of UCLA, where he won four NCAA championships competing for the UCLA Bruins track and field team. He came in fourth in the 2014 New York City Marathon on November 2, 2014, eighth in the 2015 Boston Marathon on April 20, 2015, and second in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Dathan James Ritzenhein is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC). He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009 to 2010, until it was broken by Bernard Lagat. He is a three-time national cross country champion with wins at the USA Cross Country Championships in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Formerly a Nike athlete for the majority of his professional career, Dathan joined the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project team in 2017. In early May 2020, he announced his retirement from competition. He signed with the Swiss shoe brand On shortly thereafter in June 2020 and currently acts as the coach for the OAC in Boulder, Colorado.
Lisa Frances Ondieki is an Australian former long-distance runner. In the marathon, she won the 1988 Olympic silver medal and two Commonwealth Games gold medals. Other marathon victories included the 1988 Osaka International Ladies Marathon and the 1992 New York City Marathon. She also won the Great North Run Half Marathon three times. Her best time for the marathon of 2:23:51, set in 1988, made her the fourth-fastest female marathon runner in history at the time.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized in the 5000 metres. Kipchoge is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion, and was the world record holder in the marathon from 2018 to 2023, until that record was broken by Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. Kipchoge has run 3 of the 10 fastest marathons in history.
Ryan Hall is a retired American long-distance runner who held the U.S. record in the half marathon from 2007 to 2025. With his half marathon record time (59:43), he became the first U.S. runner to break the one-hour barrier in the event. He is also the only American to run a sub-2:05 marathon. However, this time is not eligible to be a record due to the course being point-to-point and a net-downhill course. Hall won the marathon at the 2008 United States Olympic trials and placed tenth in the Olympic marathon in Beijing.
Galen Rupp is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in the men's 10,000 meters in London and the bronze medal in the men's marathon in Rio de Janeiro. Rupp competed for the University of Oregon and trained under Alberto Salazar as a member of the Nike Oregon Project. He won the 2017 Chicago Marathon, becoming the first American to do so since Khalid Khannouchi in 2002. Rupp won the marathon at the 2020 United States Olympic Trials (marathon) in Atlanta with a time of 2:09:20, and qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where he finished eighth.
Peter Campbell Renner is a retired New Zealand track and field athlete from Mosgiel, New Zealand who mostly competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase. Renner competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1982, 1986 and 1990 Commonwealth Games and holds the national and Oceania record of 8:14.05 for the 3000m Steeplechase.
Kílian Jornet is a Spanish professional long-distance trail runner and ski mountaineer. Jornet has won some of the most prestigious ultramarathons, including the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc multiple times, Grand Raid, Western States and Hardrock.
The California International Marathon (CIM) is an annual road marathon held in Northern California since 1983. The net downhill course starts at Folsom Dam and ends at the State Capitol in Sacramento. The race is organized by the Sacramento Running Association.
Peter Butler is a former Canadian long-distance runner who was a national champion in the outdoor 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres. Butler competed in the men's 10,000 metres at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. At the 1985 California International Marathon, Butler set a course record with a time of 2:10:56. This time remains the fifth fastest marathon run by a Canadian.
Catherine ("Katy") Schilly-Laetsch is a former American long-distance runner who is a United States national champion in the marathon. Schilly attended Iowa State University where she was an All-American in track and field and cross country. At the 1984 California International Marathon, she set a course record with a time of 2:32:40. Schilly also won the 1984 San Francisco Marathon (2:35:56).
Nancy Jane Ditz is a former American long-distance runner who is a United States national champion in the marathon. Ditz competed in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Janis Kristin Klecker is a former American long-distance runner who is a two-time United States national champion in the marathon.
Nanette ("Nan") Doak-Davis is a former American long-distance runner who is a United States national champion in the marathon. Doak-Davis attended University of Iowa where she was a six-time All-American in track and field and cross country. She won the 1989 California International Marathon in a time of 2:33:11.
Linda Somers-Smith is an American long-distance runner who is a two-time United States national champion in the marathon. Somers competed in the marathon at the 1996 Summer Olympics. She also won the 1992 Chicago Marathon (2:37:41) and the 1993 California International Marathon (2:34:11). Somers is notable as she is one of the very few athletes who has continued running at the elite level since she turned Pro in 1984 into the transition to Masters athlete. She continues to win and place in Open competition, even at the age of 50, all the while as a practicing attorney.
Wioletta Kryza also known as Violetta Kryza is a Polish long-distance runner who is a national champion in the marathon.
Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich is a Kenyan professional athlete who specialises in long-distance running, competing in events ranging from 10 km to the marathon. He was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is the former world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:03:23, which he set at the 2013 Berlin Marathon. He has run under 2 hours 4 minutes for the marathon on four occasions.
Lisa Uhl is an American runner. She is a four-time NCAA Division One champion, former NCAA record holder in the 10,000 meters, and the sixth fastest American woman to ever cover that distance. She competed in the 10,000 meters in the 2012 Summer Olympics. She competed for Iowa State University.
Sara Hall is an American professional distance runner for ASICS. Hall's personal best time for the marathon is 2:20:32 set at the Marathon Project in Chandler, Arizona on December 22, 2020, making her the third-fastest American woman in history. She is the second-fastest American woman ever to run the half marathon, running 1:07:15 on January 16, 2022–an American record at the time.
