Greg Meyer - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Greg Meyer is best known for his accomplishments in distance running. Most notably, he is the last American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...

Education

He is a 1973 graduate of Grand Rapids West Catholic High School

West Catholic High School

Grand Rapids West Catholic High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is a Roman Catholic private, coeducational school and was opened in 1962. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.-Athletics:...

and in 1977 with a degree in education and social studies from the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

in Ann Arbor, MI. In 1986 he earned a master's in Education from Boston University.

Family

Meyer was born in Grand Rapids, MI to parents Rita and Jay. He has one older sibling, Matthew Meyer. He met and married fellow runner Paula Lettis in 1980http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/04/profile_marathon_man_greg_meye.html while living in Boston and together they had three children, Nicholle (1981), Jacob (1983) and Daniel (1986)http://www.mlive.com/grgallery/galleries/gallery.ssf?cgi-bin/view_gallery.cgi/mlive/view_gallery.ata?g_id=7287. He divorced in 2005 while living in Dexter, MI. He resides near Rockford, MI, north of Grand Rapids and since 2008 has served as Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Aquinas College. Previous to that Greg was employed from approximately 2000 through March 2007 by the University of Michigan as director of Major Gifts for the Greater Michigan Regionhttp://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0506/Jul24_06/17.shtml where he helped raise over $125 million for the University.

Sports career

His winning time for that 1983 Boston Marathon race was 2:09.00. He has also won the River Bank Run in his home town of Grand Rapids, MI seven times over. Meyer set 10 American Road Racing records and two world record

World record

A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...

s.

"He held the American record for the ten mile run. On the track, he was a sub 4-minute miler (3:58.4), ran 8:26 for the 3,000 meter steeplechase, 13:35.44 for 5,000 meters, and 27:53.1 for the 10,000 meters (1983). Meyer’s top-level performances deserves recognition

Recognition (sociology)

Recognition in sociology is public acknowledgement of person's status or merits .When some person is recognized, he or she is accorded some special status, such as a name, title, or classification...

. He set ten American road racing

Road racing

Road racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...

records at the following distances: 8K, 10K, 15K, 25K, Ten Mile. Set two World Records in 1980 & 1981 in the 15K (Gasparilla 15K, Tampa, FL) and the Ten Mile (Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, Wash. D.C) Some of Meyer’s other accomplishments include United States Male Distance Runner of the Year 1983, being nominated for the James E. Sullivan Award

James E. Sullivan Award

The James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the American Amateur Athletic Union , is awarded annually in April to "the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Often referred to as the Oscar of sports awards, it was first presented in 1930. The award is named for the AAU's founder and past...

(America’s highest amateur award) 1983, and being inducted into the following Halls of Fame: ESPN Road Racing, Road Runners Club of American, and Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame. He also had victories at the following major races Detroit Marathon

Detroit Marathon

The Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon is a race run every October in Detroit, Michigan. The marathon course is international, crossing the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel between Detroit, Michigan, USA and Windsor, Ontario, Canada...

(1980), Chicago Marathon

Chicago Marathon

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is a major marathon held yearly in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alongside the Boston, New York, London and Berlin Marathons, it is one of the five World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also an IAAF Gold Label race...

(1982), Boston Marathon

Boston Marathon

(1983), Cascade Run Off (1980), Cherry Blossom (1983), 25K River Bank Run (seven times), and the U.S. National Cross Country Champion (1978). He broke the American indoor 5,000 meter track record with a time of 13:41 at Harvard in 1981. Meyer was one of the founding members of A.R.R.A, which was the first athletic union of road racing athletes. In the early 1980’s helped fight and win the right to earn prize money

Prize money

Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...

, starting with the Cascade Run Off in 1980. After many runners were banned from running T.A.C. events (now USAT&F) due to the “contamination rule” dealing with professionalism, T.A.C. instituted the TAC Trust system, which eventual lead to open competition and the prize money

Prize money

Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...

the athletes today enjoy…not to mention an open Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

."

Quoted from National Distance Running Hall of Fame.

Achievements

Representing the
1981	Boston Marathon Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...	Boston, United States	11th	Marathon	2:13:08
1982	Chicago Marathon Chicago Marathon The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is a major marathon held yearly in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alongside the Boston, New York, London and Berlin Marathons, it is one of the five World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also an IAAF Gold Label race...	Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... , United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	1st	Marathon	2:10:59
1983	Boston Marathon Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...	Boston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:09:00

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.