Mark Wetmore

Last updated
Mark Wetmore
Born (1953-06-29) June 29, 1953 (age 71)
Bernardsville, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation(s) University of Colorado cross country and track coach

Mark Wetmore (born June 29, 1953) is an American cross country and track coach who specializes in middle-distance and long-distance running. He began his collegiate coaching career when he was accepted as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Colorado in 1992. [1] Since then he became one of the most successful and longest-serving coaches of any collegiate program in the United States. [1] In June 2023, it was confirmed that Wetmore's contract with University of Colorado would not be renewed, ending his longstanding career at the school. [2]

Contents

Coaching career

Wetmore first began coaching in the 1970s in his hometown, Bernardsville, New Jersey, when he was offered to be the municipal children's team coach. He eventually named the team "Edge City Track Club" in 1972, after being inspired by Tom Wolfe's book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test , which discusses the hippie counterculture and living on the periphery of existence. [3] Eventually, the group expanded, when Wetmore began coaching the children's parents in running. Eventually the group expanded so much that it included runners aged from 8 to 60. [4] The group became colloquially known as the Mine Mt. Road Department. [4] Subsequently, he was offered a summer position at his own former school, Bernards High School, as an assistant cross country coach, along with his own former coach Ed Mather. [4] He spent fourteen years coaching at Bernards High before getting his first collegiate coaching offer.

Collegiate coaching

In 1988, Wetmore was hired to his first college coaching position at Seton Hall University, where he spent four years. [4] In 1992, Wetmore moved to Colorado, where he was hired as men's distance coach at University of Colorado. [1] In 1995, Wetmore accepted an additional duty to coach the women's distance team at University of Colorado. [1] [5] In 1998, former Princeton runner Chris Lear documented Colorado's cross country season under Wetmore's coaching and later published his work in his book, Running with the Buffaloes .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dathan Ritzenhein</span> American long-distance runner

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.

Adam Goucher is a retired American cross-country and track and field athlete. He ran for the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the men's 5000 meters. Goucher primarily competed in distance events and is featured in Running With The Buffaloes, a book revolving around the 1998 season of the University of Colorado cross country team.

<i>Running with the Buffaloes</i> Book by Chris Lear

Running With The Buffaloes, written by Chris Lear and published by The Lyons Press (ISBN 1-58574-328-3), chronicles the University of Colorado cross country team's 1998 season from the late summer practices to the men's NCAA cross country championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Buffaloes</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of University of Colorado

The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Boulder. The university sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes or, rarely, the Golden Buffaloes. "Lady Buffs" referred to the women's teams beginning in the 1970s, but was officially dropped in 1993. The nickname was selected by the campus newspaper in a contest with a $5 prize in 1934 won by Andrew Dickson of Boulder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Solinsky</span> American distance runner (born 1984)

Chris Solinsky is a retired American distance runner and an American college cross country coach. Solinsky is the current assistant coach of the Oregon Ducks cross country team at the University of Oregon. Among his more notable achievements, he won eight state championships in high school and five NCAA Division I championships at the University of Wisconsin. He was the American 10,000 meters record holder with a time of 26:59.60 as well as the first non-African to break the 27-minute barrier in the 10,000 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tad Boyle</span> American basketball coach (born 1963)

Thomas Martin "Tad" Boyle is an American college basketball coach who is the men's head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes of the Pac-12 Conference. He was named the 18th coach in Colorado men's basketball history on April 19, 2010, replacing Jeff Bzdelik. Boyle was named as an assistant coach for USA Basketball a second time in 2015. He played collegiately at Kansas under coach Ted Owens and Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordon Dizon</span> American football player (born 1986)

Jordon Dizon is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker and who currently serves as a national scout for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Dizon played college football for the University of Colorado, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. The Lions selected him in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft, and he played for the Lions for two seasons. He suffered a severe knee injury in 2010, which ended his career.

Mark J. Coogan is an American coach and retired American track athlete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Simpson</span> American runner (born 1986)

Jennifer Simpson is an American middle- and long-distance runner, formerly a steeplechaser. She won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2011 World Championships, silvers at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, and a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the event.

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.*

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Ducks track and field</span> Intercollegiate track and field team of for the University of Oregon

The Oregon Ducks track and field program is the intercollegiate track and field team for the University of Oregon located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference. The team participates in indoor and outdoor track and field as well as cross country. Known as the Ducks, Oregon's first track and field team was fielded in 1895. The team holds its home meets at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Jerry Schumacher is the current head coach and since the program's inception in 1895, there have only been eight permanent head coaches. The Ducks claim 32 NCAA National Championships among the three disciplines.

Jerry Schumacher is an American coach for track and field and cross country. Since 2022, he has been the head coach of the University of Oregon's track and field and cross country programs. He has also served as the head coach for the Bowerman Track Club, where he has coached several high profile athletes. Before his tenure at the Bowerman Track Club, he was the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sara Elizabeth Slattery is an American middle- and long-distance runner who mainly competes in track races. Slattery has represented the United States at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships at both junior and senior level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Coburn</span> American middle-distance runner

Emma Jane Coburn is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000-meters steeplechase. She holds the distinction of being a world champion, world silver medalist, Olympic bronze medalist, three-time Olympian and 10-time US National Champion in the steeplechase.

Lindsey Anderson is an American middle distance and steeplechase runner. She is a two-time NCAA All-American, a four-time school record holder at Weber State University, and a six-time Big Sky Conference senior champion. She also set a personal best time of 9:30.75 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase by placing second at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, which guaranteed her a qualifying place for the Olympics. University of Missouri women cross country head coach

Jim Hunt was the renowned former head cross-country and track and field coach at Humboldt State University, where he coached Lumberjack teams from 1965 until 1986. His cross-country team won the 1980 NCAA Division II National Championships and his teams regularly finished in the top ten at NCAA Nationals, producing 64 All-Americans and eleven National Champions. He coached numerous Humboldt State distance greats including Gary Tuttle, Bill Scobey, Danny Grimes, Chuck Smead and 1988 US Olympic marathon trials winner Mark Conover, his most accomplished protégé. Hunt was hired as the head track & field and cross country coach at University of California, Davis from 1986 to 1993. He guided the UC Davis women's cross country program to a runner-up finish at the 1991 NCAA Division II cross country championships with four All-Americans, among three other top-10 team finishes. The men's cross country program finished fourth that same season with two All-Americans. Hunt became well respected nationally as a coach and innovator of new training methods. He continues coaching to this day, and has produced a video "Training the Neurological Aspects of Distance Running" used by coaches across the United States. In 2018, Hunt published "The Rhythm of Running".

Scott Anderson, nicknamed "Slicko", is a runner who specialized in middle-distance and long-distance disciplines in competitive track and field. Although Anderson never competed in the Olympics, at one point he was one of the brightest track prospects in the United States. He finished in eighth place out of nine competitors in the first heat of the preliminary round for the 1500-meter race at the 1996 US Olympic Trials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Webb (runner)</span> American middle distance runner

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dani Jones</span> American middle-distance runner (born 1996)

Danielle "Dani" Jones is an American middle-distance runner. She is a four-time NCAA Division I champion winning two gold medals at the 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 3000-meters and Indoor Distance Medley Relay, a gold in 2018 in Cross-Country, and later won the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 5000-meters. In May 2018, she finished first at the National Women's 1500-meters at the Prefontaine Classic in a time of 4:07.74.

Colorado Buffaloes Cross Country represents the University of Colorado and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The team is coached by Mark Wetmore.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 John A. Kissane (October 23, 2014). "Runner's World: Mark Wetmore: "Some is Tradition, Some is Brand New"" . Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Mark Wetmore Released From University Of Colorado After Nearly 30 Years As Head Coach". 2024-06-26. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  3. ↑ Chris Lear. Running With the Buffaloes. Page 28
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jonathan Gault (September 2014). "Letsrun.com: The Wetmore Formula" . Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  5. ↑ Camera |, Daily (2009-08-18). "Barringer sets record in taking 5th at worlds". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.