Ian Stewart MBE is a Scottish former long-distance running athlete. Ian Stewart was one of the world's leading distance runners between the late 1960s and mid-1970s. Stewart won the bronze medal in the Men's 5000 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Stewart also won the following championships: European 5,000 metres (1969), Commonwealth 5,000 metres (1970), European Indoor and World Cross Country (1975).
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.
Alain Mimoun, born Ali Mimoun Ould Kacha, was a French long-distance runner who competed in track events, cross-country running and the marathon. He was the 1956 Olympic champion in the marathon. He is the most bemedalled French athletics sportsperson in history. In 1999, readers of the French athletics magazine Athlétisme Magazine voted him as the “French Athlete of the 20th Century”.
Boniface Toroitich Kiprop is a Ugandan long-distance runner.
Martti Olavi Vainio is a Finnish former long-distance runner. In Finland he is recognized as the last of the great runners of the famous "V-line", the previous ones being Juha Väätäinen, Lasse Virén, and Pekka Vasala. Each of them won at least one gold medal either at the Summer Olympics or the European Athletics Championships in the 1970s. Vainio's accomplishments are tarnished though, for testing positive for PEDs on at least two occasions. One of those events was the 1984 Olympic Games where he was disqualified and stripped of his medal and later suspended from sport.
Charles Waweru Kamathi is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is best known for winning the 10,000 metres distance at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton.
Martin Irungu Mathathi is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who competes in track, cross country and road running events. Mathathi won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. He represented his country in the same event at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He holds the 10 miles world junior record of 44:51.
Paola Pigni was an Italian middle- and long-distance runner. She was a three-time world champion in cross country and held the world record over five distance running events on the track, from 1,500m to 10,000m.
Willy Polleunis is a Belgian former long-distance runner who won the silver medal in the 3000 metres at the 1973 European Indoor Championships, behind his clubmate Emiel Puttemans. He also ran a world record on the 10 miles in 1972. He competed in the 5000 and 10000 metres events at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics with the best achievement of sixth place in the 5000 metres in 1976. At the start of the final lap, he was in tenth place, but he accelerated, and possibly ran the final lap even faster than the winner, Lasse Viren. Polleunis also won team gold medals at the 1973 and 1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, and a team silver in 1976.
Alice Jemeli Timbilil is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed over 10,000 metres at both the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.
Patrick ("Pat") Ralph Porter was an American distance runner. Born in Wadena, Minnesota, he graduated from Adams State in 1982 with a degree in marketing, after which he became one of the most dominant U.S. distance runners of the 1980s. Porter was a two time U.S. Olympian, running the 10000 meters at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. In 1983 he set the World Record for a road 10K at 27:31.8. He won the silver medal at the 1985 IAAF World Cup in Canberra, Australia, getting nipped at the tape by Ethiopia's Wodajo Bulti by six hundredths of a second.
Nicholas Henry Rose is a British former international track and field athlete. He competed in a variety of middle-distance and long-distance running events. He is the current European record holder in the 10K run (road), and British record holder in the 4×1 mile relay event. He set the world record in the half-marathon in 1979. His personal best in the half-marathon is 1:01:03, the second fastest British time after Steve Jones. He also held the British record in the indoor 2 miles event with 8:18.4—a record which stood for 24 years exactly.
Sylvia Mosqueda is an American long distance runner notable for hard front running over an extended career at an elite level.
Daniele Meucci is an Italian athlete who specialises in long-distance running, including track running, cross country and road running who won twenty medals at international level.
Silvana Cruciata is a former Italian middle- and long-distance runner. She represented Italy at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and shared medals with the Italian women's teams at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Her best of 18.084 km for the one hour run set in 1981 was a world record for over seventeen years.
Erik De Beck is a Belgian former long-distance runner who specialised in cross country running. His greatest performance was a gold medal at the 1974 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He shared in the team title at that event on three occasions: 1973, 1974 and 1977.
Léon Schots is a Belgian former long-distance runner who competed in track and cross country running competitions. His greatest achievement was a gold medal at the 1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he also led Belgium to the team title.
Mohamed Ezzher is a French long distance runner. He represented France in the 10,000 metres at the 1996 Olympics. He also represented France four successive times at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics doing the 5,000 in 1995, the 10,000 in 1997, 1999 and the Marathon in 2001.
Detlef Hugo Otto Uhlemann is a German former long-distance runner who competed for West Germany. Born in the Altenessen district of the city of Essen, he represented his country at the 1976 Summer Olympics, being a finalist in the 5000 metres. He was a member of the LG Bonn/Troisdorf athletics club during his career.
Jean Fayolle is a French former long-distance runner who competed in track and cross country running. Born in Saint-Étienne, he became a member of ASPTT Paris and went on to represent France in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He was a four-time French national champion, winning titles in cross country, 3000 metres steeplechase, 5000 m and the 10,000 m in the 1960s.
