Melody Fairchild

Last updated
Melody Fairchild
2012 Loon Mountain Race-30 (7543007898).jpg
Personal information
Full nameMelody Fairchild
Nationality American
Born (1973-09-10) 10 September 1973 (age 50)
Medal record
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Women's athletics
World Junior Cross Country Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1991 Antwerp Women's race

Melody Fairchild (born as the twin to Germaine on September 10, 1973 in Boulder, Colorado) is an American long distance runner. She is primarily known for an exceptional high school career. She has been called the "Best American High School distance runner of all time." [1] In 1991, she set the American Junior and National High School record in the indoor 3,000 meters.

As a child she took up running on her own volition. By age 10 she was running a hilly 5 mile run daily, timing herself to make herself faster each day. By age 15 she was a high school phenom. She won her hometown Bolder Boulder three consecutive times. Between Cross Country and Track, she won eight state titles [2] and became only the second person to defend their title at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, then called the Kinney Cross Country Championships, winning in 1989 and 1990. [3] Her 1990 winning time of 16:39, reputed to be by a quarter of a mile, is the still standing Morely Field course record. She is the first female scholastic athlete to run two miles in less than 10 minutes (9:55.9). [4] a record she held for 22 years. [5] While still in high school, she finished third in the 1991 World Junior Cross Country Championships behind a couple of Kenyan runners (the winner only 13 years old).

By the time she reached the University of Oregon on a track scholarship, injuries and an eating disorder prevented her from running for her first two years. She gave up her scholarship her junior year, only to return to earn it back as a senior, placing ninth in the 1995 NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship and winning the 1996 3000 meters at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. [2] Inducted in the 2017 Oregon Ducks athletics hall of fame. [6]

In 2000, she made a failed attempt to make the U. S. Olympic team in the marathon, then disappeared from the scene. At age 37, she decided to give it one more go, training for the 2012 Olympic Trials. While failing to reach that lofty goal, she did finish 8th at the 2012 World Mountain Running Championships and winning the 2010 women's division of the Transrockies Run - the running version of the Transrockies race. [2] [7]

Related Research Articles

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

Jordan Melissa Hasay is an American distance runner. She grew up in Arroyo Grande, California, and attended Mission College Preparatory High School in San Luis Obispo. She was unanimously selected 2008 Girls High School Athlete of the Year by the voting panel at Track and Field News. In March 2009, she became the ninth high school athlete and third woman on the cover of Track and Field News magazine. She attended the University of Oregon, where she studied business administration and competed on the cross country and track and field teams earning 18 All-American honors, 2011 Mile and 3,000 meters NCAA titles. Her father was a high school basketball star in Pennsylvania, and her mother was a national level swimmer in her native England. Jordan Hasay is no longer coached by Alberto Salazar due to his suspension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Kipyego</span> Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner

Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego is a Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 10,000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the silver medalist in the same race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has a personal record of 30:38.35 minutes for that event and her 5000 metres best of 14:30.42 minutes makes her the second fastest Kenyan woman for the distance.

<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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English Gardner</span> American sprinter

English Gardner is an American track and field sprinter who specializes in the 100-meter dash. Her personal best of 10.74 seconds, set in 2016, ranks her in the top ten all-time for the distance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Cheserek</span> Kenyan American distance runner

Edward Cheserek is a Kenyan distance runner. He is a 17-time NCAA champion collegiate distance runner for the University of Oregon. Cheserek was the most highly recruited high school distance runner in the nation out of Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in New Jersey where he was named the Gatorade 2012-2013 National Cross Country Runner of the Year. In 2013, Cheserek became the first freshman in Oregon history to win the NCAA National Cross Country Championships. Cheserek repeated this feat in his sophomore and junior years at Oregon before coming in third in the race in 2016 during his senior year. In total, Cheserek has 17 NCAA National Titles, including two indoor distance medley relays and one cross-country team title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Avery</span> British long-distance runner

Kate Avery is a British long-distance runner. She competes in track and road competitions but specialises in cross country running. She was twice silver medallist at the 2014 European Cross Country Championships and 2015, and also a gold medallist on both occasions as part of the Great Britain women's senior team. She became the first British woman to win the NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship in 2014, running for Iona College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colleen Quigley</span> American middle- and long-distance runner

Colleen Quigley is an American middle-distance runner, steeplechase specialist and an Olympian from St. Louis, Missouri. She is the current World Record holder in the 4x1500 meters relay. Competing in the 3000 meters steeplechase, she finished 8th at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and 12th at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing. She was the 2019 US National Indoor Champion in the one-mile event running 4:29.47 to capture the title and was the 2015 NCAA Champion in the 3000 meters steeplechase. In 2023, Quigley announced that she would start competing in triathlon events, but that she still plans to race track and field through 2024.

Luke Puskedra is an American long-distance runner who competes over distances ranging from 10,000 meters to the marathon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Sisson</span> American long-distance runner (born 1991)

Emily Sisson is an American long-distance runner. She set the North American record in the marathon on 9 October 2022, when she ran 2:18:29 to finish second at the Chicago Marathon. Sisson also held the American record in the half marathon from May 2022 until July 2023. She represented the United States in the 10000 metres at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships, finishing 9th and 10th. In June 2021, she won the 10000m at the 2020 US Olympic Trials and placed 10th in the 10000m final at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2024, she placed second in the marathon at the US Olympic Trials, qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Bates</span> American long-distance runner (born 1992)

Emma Bates is an American long-distance runner, who competes in the marathon. Her achievements include winning the USA Marathon Championships in 2018, placing second in the 2021 Chicago Marathon, and finishing fifth in the 2023 Boston Marathon. Bates also represented the United States in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, where she set a personal best of 2:23.18 and finished seventh. Her highest position on the World Athletics Rankings was No. 14 in the marathon in July 2022.

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

Andrew James Hunter is an American middle distance runner from Purcellville, Virginia, who competes professionally for Adidas on the running group Tinman Elite. He set the national indoor mile record for high school boys in 2016. He was named Gatorade National Cross-Country Runner of the Year in 2016. He committed to the University of Oregon on November 12, 2015 but instead decided to pursue a professional career by signing a 10-year contract with Adidas on July 8, 2016.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karissa Schweizer</span> American runner

Karissa Schweizer is an American middle- and long-distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the women's 4x1500 meters relay. She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters events finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. In 2020, she set the indoor 3000 meters American Record with a time of 8:25.70.

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

Allison "Allie" Ostrander is an American long-distance runner from Soldotna, Alaska. The repeat NCAA Division I steeplechase champion in 2017, 2018 and 2019, she competed for the Boise State University Broncos. In July 2019, Ostrander announced her plans to forgo her final season of NCAA eligibility and begin running professionally.

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

Katelyn Tuohy is an American professional middle- and long-distance runner.

Taylor Ewert is an American long-distance runner and college track and field athlete for the University of Arkansas and Michigan State University. In high school, she set numerous records and was the cross country OHSAA Division I individual state champion in 2019, representing Beavercreek High School. Ewert committed to the University of Arkansas later that year, and in 2020, she was named the Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elle Purrier St. Pierre</span> American runner

Elinor Purrier St. Pierre is an American track and field athlete who specializes in middle-distance and long-distance running. She won a gold medal in the 3000 meters at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Purrier also represented the United States at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

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

Alicia Monson is an American long-distance runner who primarily competes in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. She holds the North American record over the 5000 m, 10,000 m, and two mile distances, all set as part of the On Athletics Club under coach Dathan Ritzenhein.

Roisin Willis is an American middle-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 800 meters at the 2022 World Under-20 Championships, adding second title for the women's 4x400 m relay.

References

  1. "An Interview With Melody Fairchild". 30 March 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Legendary runner Fairchild goes for it again at 37". 13 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  3. http://www.footlockercc.com/history/finals.php
  4. "Climb Every Mountain". 27 December 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  5. Foundation, National Scholastic Sports. "Jim Spier's Week In Review - Feb. 4, 2013 - National Scholastic Athletics Foundation". National Scholastic Sports Foundation. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  6. Mims, Steve. "Former UO stars get their night" . Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  7. "TransRockies Run Ends in Beaver Creek – iRunFar.com". 27 August 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2018.