Brendan Foster is a British former long-distance runner who founded the Great North Run. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the gold medal in the 5,000 metres at the 1974 European Championships and the 10,000 metres at the 1978 Commonwealth Games.
Zersenay Tadese is an Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics made him the first ever Eritrean Olympic medallist, and his 20-km title at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships also made him the country's first athlete to win at a world championship event. He does not use a sprint finish to win races; his strategy relies on a combination of efficient running and fast pace setting.
Jaouad Gharib is a Moroccan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. Winner of the 2003 World Championships and 2005 World Championships over the distance, he is also notable because he only began running seriously at the age of twenty-two. His 2005 retention made him one of only two successive world championship marathon champions, after Abel Antón. He was the silver medallist in the marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Dathan Ritzenhein is an American long-distance runner. He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009-2010, when 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 and has been sponsored by Brooks since then.
Joanne Marie Pavey MBE is a British long-distance runner and a World, European and Commonwealth medallist. She won the 10,000 m gold medal at the 2014 European Championships in Zürich, ten months after giving birth to her second child, to become the oldest female European champion in history at the age of 40 years and 325 days. She is coached by her husband and manager Gavin Pavey, with whom she has two children.
Galen Rupp is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. In London he won the silver medal in the men's 10,000 meters, and in Rio de Janeiro he won the bronze medal in the men's marathon. Rupp has 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, the first American to do so since Khalid Khannouchi in 2002.
Benjamin Basil Heatley was a British competitive long-distance runner, who was an Olympic marathon silver medallist and former world marathon record-holder. Although he favoured cross country running, he was also a skilled marathon runner and, despite running shoe technology being in its infancy, he was able to adapt easily to the change of conditions underfoot.
Mike McLeod is a former British athlete who competed mainly in the 10,000 metres.
Paul Richard Cummings was a world-class middle and long distance runner who ran competitively from the 1,500 meters to the marathon, breaking several American records and one world record. His ability to have a middle distance runner's kick and also have the stamina to compete in distances up to the marathon place him as one of the most versatile American track and road racers of his era.
Robin Evan Hugh Jones is a retired British long distance runner. He attended Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, where he began competing in long distance running both for the school and for Ranelagh Harriers, and the University of Liverpool.
Todd Dwayne Williams is a retired long-distance runner from the United States, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992. During high school he won the Michigan team race title twice. He was a two-time United States cross country champion, with victories in 1991 and 1993. He attended the University of Tennessee where he was an All-American for three years. Is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt under Luiz Palhares and runs an ASICS sponsored company known as RunSafer.
Richard David NerurkarMBE is a former track and field athlete from Great Britain, competing in the long-distance running events.
Tsegaye Kebede Wordofa is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in road running events, including marathons. He quickly rose to become a prominent distance runner after his international debut at the Amsterdam Marathon in 2007. In his second year of professional running, he won the Paris Marathon, the Fukuoka Marathon and won the marathon bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Nicholas Henry Rose is a British former international track and field athlete. He competed in a variety of middle distance and long-distance running events. He is the current European record holder in the 10K run (road), and British record holder in the 4×1 mile relay event. He set the world record in the half-marathon in 1979. His personal best in the half-marathon is 1:01:03, the second fastest British time after Steve Jones. He also held the British record in the indoor 2 miles event with 8:18.4—a record which stood for 24 years exactly.
Paul William Evans is a former distance runner from England, who ran in the 10000m track final at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He took up running at 25, having been a footballer. He was a member of Belgrave Harriers and the City of Norwich Athletics Club.
Bat-Ochiryn "Ziggy" Ser-Od is a Mongolian long-distance runner who competes in road races, particularly the marathon. He represented his country in the marathon at the Summer Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012 where he also was flagbearer. A member of the Morpeth Harriers running club, he divides his time between his native country and Gateshead in England.
Collis Birmingham is an Australian middle- and long distance runner. He is a two-time participant at the Summer Olympics and four-times at the World Championships in Athletics. He has competed at five editions of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He was an Australian and Oceanian 10,000 metres record holder from 2009 to 2011.
Stephen Mokoka is a South African long-distance runner who competes in races ranging from 3000 metres to the marathon distance. He is a four-time medalist at the Universiade and has represented South Africa internationally in road, cross country, and track events. He represented South Africa in the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics.
Gemma Steel is a British long-distance runner who competes in road running and cross country running competitions. She was the 2014 gold medallist at the European Cross Country Championships. She has represented Great Britain internationally in cross country, road and track events. She has won at three of the Great Run series events: the Great Ireland Run, Great Birmingham Run and Great Yorkshire Run. She has also won the Bristol Half Marathon and placed seventh at the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.
Emmanuel Kipkemei Bettnb is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in track and road running events. He has a 10,000 metres personal best of 26:51.16 minutes, which was the fastest time in the world in the 2012 season.
