Phil Coppess (born September 2, 1954) is an American former long-distance runner. Coppess went to high school in Oxford Junction, Iowa where he was a standout runner. Coppess won the State Boys' Outdoor Track & Field 2-mile run in 1971; he won the State Cross Country in 1971; the State Cross Country Individual Mile in 1971; the State Boys' Indoor Track & Field 2-mile run in 1972; and the State Boys' Outdoor Track & Field 2-mile run in 1972.
In the mid-1980s, he was one of the best US marathon runners, although he worked full-time in a factory and was a single parent. In 1981 he won the Chicago Marathon and the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville. In 1982 he finished sixth in the London Marathon. In 1985 he won the Twin Cities Marathon with his personal best of 2:10:05, one of the fastest times ever run by an American. The time set a course record that stood for 33 years until broken by Kenyan Dominic Ondoro. [1] [2] [3] [4]
In 1985, Coppess was named the Road Runner of the Year by the Road Runners Club of America. [5]
Frank Charles Shorter is an American former long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His Olympic success, along with the achievements of other American runners, is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States during the 1970s.
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.
Craig Steven Virgin is an American distance runner. He was born in Belleville, Illinois, and grew up near Lebanon, Illinois. While in high school, Virgin won 5 state championships as well as setting the national outdoor high school 2-mile record of 8:40.9. Additionally, Virgin held the Illinois Boys Cross Country all-time state championship record for 47 years, running a 13:50.6 in 1972, a record that stood until November 9, 2019, when Josh Methner of John Hersey High School ran a 13:49.86. Virgin was Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1973.
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.
Galen Rupp is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in the men's 10,000 meters in London and the bronze medal in the men's marathon in Rio de Janeiro. Rupp competed for the University of Oregon and trained under Alberto Salazar as a member of the Nike Oregon Project. He won the 2017 Chicago Marathon, becoming the first American to do so since Khalid Khannouchi in 2002. Rupp won the marathon at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta with a time of 2:09:20, and qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where he finished eighth.
Shalane Grace Flanagan is an American long-distance runner, coach, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area records in both the 10k and 15k road races.
Edward D. Eyestone is a two-time Olympic marathoner, long distance runner, and an NCAA coach.
Jon Peter Anderson, is a lifelong Eugene, Oregon resident. He was a publisher and runner best known for winning the 1973 Boston Marathon. Anderson was a competitive long-distance runner from 1966 to 1984. He represented the United States as a member of the 1972 US Olympic track and field team.
Chris Derrick is an American distance runner who won 3 consecutive US Cross Country Championships in 2013–15. He attended Stanford University, where he earned 14 All-American honors and holds an American junior record in the 5000 meters.
Lisa Uhl is an American runner. She is a four-time NCAA Division One champion, former NCAA record holder in the 10,000 meters, and the sixth fastest American woman to ever cover that distance. She competed in the 10,000 meters in the 2012 Summer Olympics. She competed for Iowa State University.
Molly Huddle is an American long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She held the American record in the 5000 meters set in 2014 in Monaco (14:42.64), which has since been lowered by Shannon Rowbury, Shelby Houlihan and Alicia Monson. Huddle held also the American record in the 10,000 meters set at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a time of 30:13.17, which has since been lowered by Alicia Monson.
Garry Brian Bjorklund is an American middle- and long-distance runner. He represented the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics in the 10,000 meters. As a high schooler, he set a Minnesota state record for the mile run which lasted 39 years. At the University of Minnesota, he won the 1971 national championship in the six-mile run, and won numerous conference championships in various disciplines. Following his 1976 Summer Olympics appearance, Bjorklund became a marathon runner, and set a national age group record in 1980.
Luke Puskedra is an American long-distance runner who competes over distances ranging from 10,000 meters to the marathon.
Emily Sisson is an American long-distance runner. She set the North American record in the marathon on October 9, 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. She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics Women's marathon on 11 August 2024, where she finished 23rd.
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.
Betty Jo Geiger is an American former long-distance runner who competed in events ranging from 3000-meter run to the marathon.
Don Janicki is an American long-distance runner.
The 1981 Chicago Marathon was the fifth running of the annual marathon race in Chicago, United States and was held on September 27. The elite men's and women's races were won by Americans Phil Coppess and Tina Gandy (2:49:39). A total of 4252 runners finished the race, an increase of over 600 from the previous year.
Frank Richardson is a retired marathon runner who competed during the 1970s and 1980s. Before entering his first races in the late 1970s, Richardson was 4th at the 1976 NCAA Men's Division III Cross Country Championship and 1st at the 1977 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 10,000 meters. In World Marathon Majors, Richardson was 20th at the 1979 Boston Marathon and did not complete the 1980 Boston event. That year, Richardson won the 1980 Chicago Marathon with a course record time of 2:15:15 and was 10th at the 1980 New York City Marathon. In other events, Richardson won the 1980 USA Marathon Championships and was 9th in the marathon at the 1980 United States Olympic Trials. After ending his marathon career in 1985, Richardson worked at a pharmacy before resuming road racing in 2001.
Debbie Mueller is an American middle and long-distance runner who won many major road races in the 1980s and 1990s, including the Dublin Marathon.