Achievements
- All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the  United States | ||||
| 1995 | Grandma's Marathon | Duluth, United States | 1st | 2:15:23 |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | January 5, 1959 Chillicothe, Missouri |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Long-distance running |
| College team | Central Missouri Mules and Jennies |
Mark Curp (born January 5, 1959, in Chillicothe, Missouri) held the world record for the half marathon from 1985 until 1990. He continued holding the American record in the half marathon until a new record was set by Ryan Hall in 2007.
Curp attended Central Missouri State University, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1981 and a master's degree in 1982. [1]
Curp broke the men's world record in the half marathon on September 15, 1985, clocking 1:00:55 at the Philadelphia Distance Run in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at an overall pace just under 4:39 per mile for the official 13.1094-mile distance. According to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, "in 1987 and 1988, Runner’s World magazine ranked him the number one road racer in the world." [2] (Curp's best time in a marathon came at the 1987 Twin Cities Marathon, when he finished third with a time of 2:11:45. [3] )
Curp's world record in the half marathon stood for five years, until September 16, 1990, when Dionicio Ceron broke Curp's time by nine seconds on the same Philadelphia course. [4]
Curp's time of 1:00:55 stood as the American record until January 14, 2007, when Ryan Hall broke the record at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon in Houston, Texas. [5]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing the United States | ||||
| 1995 | Grandma's Marathon | Duluth, United States | 1st | 2:15:23 |
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 at that race for 28 years. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.
Elizabeth Nuttall is a Scottish former middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships and a silver over the same distance at the 1988 Olympic Games. McColgan earned a silver in the 3000 metres at the 1989 World Indoor Championships. She was a two-time gold medalist in the event at the Commonwealth Games, 1992 World Half Marathon champion and a two-time individual medallist at the World Cross Country Championships. She claimed three victories at the World Marathon Majors: at the 1991 New York City Marathon, 1992 Tokyo Marathon and 1996 London Marathon.
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.
Ingrid Kristiansen is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon. Kristiansen was a World Champion on the track, roads and cross-country, becoming the first athlete to win World titles on all three surfaces. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she finished fourth in the first women's Olympic marathon. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she dropped out of the 10,000 metres final while leading. Early in her career, she was also an elite cross country skier, winning several Norwegian titles and a European junior championships.
Arturo Barrios Flores is a Mexican and American long-distance runner who set the 10,000 m world record in 1989, the one hour world record in 1991, and the 20,000 m world record en route to the one hour run world record.
John Stamstad is a member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. He was famous for his domination of long-distance mountain bike races. He entered his first long-distance road bike race in 1985. The 547-mile (880 km) non-stop race was across Missouri from St. Louis to Kansas City and back. In 1991 he switched from road events to ultra-marathon mountain bike events when he entered the Montezuma's Revenge, a 24-hour race in Colorado.
Deena Michelle Kastor is an American long-distance runner. She was a holder of American records in the marathon (2006-2022) and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. She is also an eight-time national champion in cross country.
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.
David "Dave" Charles Berkoff is an American former competition Hall of Fame swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. Berkoff was a backstroke specialist who won a total of four medals during his career at the Olympic Games in 1988 and 1992. He is best known for breaking the world record for the 100-meter backstroke three times, beginning at the 1988 Olympic trial preliminaries, becoming the first swimmer to go under 55 seconds for the event. He is also remembered for his powerful underwater backstroke start, the eponymous "Berkoff Blastoff" which after a strong push-off from the side of the pool used a horizontal body position with locked arms outstretched overhead and an undulating or wavelike aerodynamic dolphin kick to provide thrust and build speed.
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Dale Greig was a Scottish cross country champion and pioneering long-distance runner. In 1964 she became the first woman to run a marathon in under 3 hours 30 minutes. Her time of 3:27:45 at the Isle of Wight Marathon was recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations as a world best.
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Marion Irvine is an American nun and former marathon runner. Irvine became the then-oldest person to participate in the United States Olympic Trials in track and field in 1984, when she was 54 years old. Following the Trials, she regularly ran on the marathon circuit and gained attention from the media, along with the nickname "The Flying Nun". Irvine broke numerous age-group records in distance running events during her career, and has been inducted into multiple running halls of fame.
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Sara Mae Berman is an American marathon runner. Berman won the Boston Marathon as an unofficial winner from 1969 to 1971 as women were not allowed to compete until 1972. At subsequent Boston Marathons, Berman had a fifth-place finish in both 1972 and 1973. Berman's wins were made official by the Boston Athletic Association in 1996. Outside of Boston, Berman finished third at the 1971 New York City Marathon. In 2015, she was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame. Berman is the daughter of Saul O Sidore and May Blum Sidore Gruber.
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