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 Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and was preparing for the 1976 Olympics with the Oregon Track Club at the time of his death in 1975. Prefontaine's career, alongside those of Jim Ryun, Frank Shorter, and Bill Rodgers, generated considerable media coverage, which helped inspire the 1970s "running boom." He died at age 24 in an automobile crash near his residence in Eugene, Oregon. One of the premier track meets in the world, the Prefontaine Classic, is held annually in Eugene in his honor. Prefontaine's celebrity and charisma later resulted in two 1990s feature films about his short life.
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.
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.
Robert Owen Kennedy Jr. is an American distance runner. Now retired, In 1996 he was ranked 4th in the world at the 5000 meters. He once held the American record in the 3000 meters (7:30.84), 2 miles (8:11.59) and the 5000 meters (12:58.21).
Burbank High School is a public high school in Burbank, California. It was established in 1908 and opened on September 14, 1914, and its inaugural class had 334 students. It is a part of the Burbank Unified School District. The area had previously been served by the Glendale Union High School District.
Ryan Hall is a retired American long-distance runner who holds the U.S. record in the half marathon. 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.
Peter Dickson Pfitzinger is an American former distance runner, who later became an author, exercise physiologist and sports administrator.
George L. Young was an American track athlete and college coach. He won a bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the 3000 meter steeplechase and held several American records in events ranging from the two mile to the 5000 meter race. He broke two world records, in the indoor two and three mile events.
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.
Thomas J. Fleming was an American distance runner who won the 1973 and 1975 New York City Marathon. He was also a two time runner-up in the Boston Marathon in 1973 and 1974 and finished six times in the top ten in the BAA marathon. Fleming was the winner of the Cleveland, Toronto, Los Angeles, Jersey Shore and Washington DC marathons in the 1970s. He set a personal best of 2:12:05 in the Boston Marathon 1975, and was renowned for running 110 to 150 miles per week to train for road racing. He was awarded the United Nations Peace Medal in 1977.
Jack Strangl Bacheler is an American former long-distance runner and two-time U.S. Olympian. Born in Washington, District of Columbia, Bacheler was a founding member of the Florida Track Club at Gainesville, Florida in the late 1960s, and personally designed the club's distinctive "orange" logo. Standing 6 feet 7 inches, yet weighing only 165 pounds, he towered over most of his competitors. Now living in Clayton, North Carolina, he is married to Patricia Bacheler. Bacheler has two children, daughter Teresa (Teri), and son Matthew (Matt).
Eastern Michigan Eagles men's cross country is a varsity level sport at Eastern Michigan University. The Eagles compete at the Division I level in the NCAA, but previously have been in the NAIA as well as Division II and III of the NCAA. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), where it has won twenty team championships. Its current head coach, Mark Rinker, started in January 2021. His predecessor, John Goodridge, won *ten MAC championships in his fifteen years as head coach. *(limited Mac school team participation 2004-2015 vs.1972-2003) His predecessor Bob Parks holds the other nine MAC championships.*
Jacqueline Hansen is a former long-distance runner from the United States who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world best in the marathon on two occasions.
Jeff Nelson is an American former long distance runner. He was a high school phenom at Burbank High School, where he set the national high school record in the 2 mile run, the predecessor to today's 3200 meter run, at 8:36.3. He set the record before a national television audience, running in open competition at the Pepsi Invitational, May 6, 1979 at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Alan Webb is an American former track and field athlete and former triathlete. He held the American national record in the mile, with a time of 3 minutes 46.91 seconds, from July 2007 to September 2023. Webb represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 1500-meters race. He competed professionally for Nike until the end of 2013. He retired after the 2014 Millrose Games. He currently serves as head coach for the Ave Maria University cross country, swimming, and track and field teams.
Elliott Heath is a runner who specialized in middle and long-distance disciplines. He competed at the 2012 US Olympic track trials for the 5000-meter race. He is the younger brother of Garrett Heath.
Eric Jenkins is a retired professional distance runner. He first began running at Portsmouth High School in his hometown, after which he was recruited by Northeastern University. After his junior year Jenkins transferred to University of Oregon, where he further established his reputation in collegiate distance running. After his collegiate career he signed a contract with Nike. He formerly ran with the Nike Oregon Project.
Clayton Murphy is an American middle-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 800-meter run at the 2016 Olympic Games. He was the gold medalist in the 800-meter run at the 2015 Pan American Games. He ran collegiately for the University of Akron, before signing with Nike in June 2016 and joining the Nike Oregon Project.
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.
