Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. The USATF was known between 1979 and 1992 as The Athletics Congress (TAC) after its spin off from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which governed the sport in the US through most of the 20th century until the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 dissolved its responsibility. Based in Indianapolis, USATF is a non-profit organization with a membership of more than 130,000. The organization has three key leadership positions: CEO Max Siegel, Board of Directors Chair Steve Miller, and elected President Vin Lananna. U.S. citizens and permanent residents can be USATF members, but permanent residents only can participate in masters events in the country, and they cannot receive any USATF medal, prize money or score for a team.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels. The association was created to standardize rules and regulations and to promote and develop the growth of tennis in the United States.
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.
The National Distance Running Hall of Fame was established on July 11, 1998, to honor those who have contributed to the sport of distance running. Many of those who are inducted have achieved great success as runners, but some members are enshrined for their ability to bring fame and recognition to the sport of running. Many of the individuals inducted into this prestigious Hall of Fame, are extremely influential in regard to the recognition and progress the American distance running has undergone throughout the years.
Hal Higdon is an American writer and runner known for his training plans. He is the author of 34 books, including the best-selling Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide. He has worked as a freelance writer since 1959, and has written a variety of subjects including a children's book that was made into an animated feature. He has contributed to Runner's World magazine longer than any other writer. He ran eight times in the United States Olympic Trials and won four World Masters Championships. He is one of the founders of the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA).
The Navy Midshipmen are the athletic teams that represent the United States Naval Academy. The academy sponsors 33 varsity sports teams and 12 club sport teams. Both men's and women's teams are called Navy Midshipmen or "Mids". They participate in the NCAA's Division I, as a non-football member of the Patriot League, a football-only member of the American Athletic Conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and a member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (men), Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (men), Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges, Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (men), Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference (men) and Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. Navy is also one of approximately 300 members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The Peachtree Road Race is an American 10-kilometer run held annually in Atlanta. After being held on Independence Day from 1970 to 2019, the race was cancelled because of the COVID pandemic after originally being set for Thanksgiving. It is the world's largest 10k race, a title it has held since the late 1970s. The race has become a citywide tradition in which over 70,000 amateur and professional runners try to register for one of the limited 60,000 spots. The event also includes a wheelchair race, which precedes the footrace. In recent years, the race also has a special division for soldiers stationed in the Middle East. The race attracts some of the world's elite 10K runners and has served as both the United States' men's and women's 10K championship.
Harris Browning 'Brownie' Ross is often referred to as the father of long-distance running in America.
Nina Kuscsik is a retired female long-distance runner from the United States, who has participated in over 80 marathons.
The West Texas Running Club (WTRC), founded in 1972 by Gene Adams and James Morris, has grown into the foremost running organization in West Texas, with over 300 members. WTRC conducts 13 events each year.
Nancy Jane Ditz is a former American long-distance runner who is a United States national champion in the marathon. Ditz competed in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
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.
The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road records for standard race distances and to establish valid criteria for road record-keeping. The official publication of the ARRS is the Analytical Distance Runner. This newsletter contains recent race results and analysis and is distributed to subscribers via e-mail. The ARRS is the only organized group that maintains records on indoor marathons.
The Road Runners Club is an association of road runners formed in 1952 to encourage the athletic discipline of road running in the United Kingdom. Since then it has developed into a club that embraces the concept of assisting in the promotion of and training for road races and long distance track races. The most popular distances amongst current members are the half marathon and marathon for which much training advice is available to members. The club operates a unique club championship whereby members send in the verifiable results from any sanctioned race in the world and the results are entered throughout a calendar year. This has proved popular amongst all levels of ability and resulted in 280 championship entries for 2019. The club now embraces all runners from the park run to the marathon and ultra marathon competitors with comprehensive advice on its website.
George Aaron Hirsch, is a magazine publisher, a founder of the New York City Marathon, a candidate for United States Congress and a television commentator. Hirsch was the founding publisher of New York, New Times and The Runner magazines. Hirsch was also the worldwide publisher of Runner’s World, the first publishing director of Men's Health and the publisher of La Cucina Italiana. He is currently the chairman of the board of the New York Road Runners.
Gary Allen is an American long-distance runner, race director and entrepreneur. He is the founder and director of the Mount Desert Island Marathon, and was the co-founder and director of the Great Cranberry Island 50K Ultra Marathon. He is the founder and race director of the Millinocket Marathon & Half.
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.
Allan Steinfeld was the president of the New York Road Runners and race director of the New York City Marathon from 1994 to 2005. During his executive career, Steinfeld was also the technical director of the New York City Marathon and the NYRR's chief executive officer during the 1980s. In 2009, Steinfeld received the Abebe Bikila Award from the NYRR. Outside of the NYRR, Steinfeld was a co-establisher of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races in 1982.
