Patrick Petersen (December 3, 1959 – May 31, 2015) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who once held the American record for the marathon, when he ran 2:10:04 at the 1989

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

It was a record that stood for 9 years, until it was finally broken in 1999 by Khalid Khannouchi's world-record run of 2:05:42 in that year's Chicago Marathon. .

Running career

High school

Petersen attended

Islip High School Islip High School is the public high school in Islip, in Suffolk County, New York on the South Shore of Long Island. It is a part of the Islip School District. the principal is Lara Gonzalez. The complete lists of current and past graduates, Rege ...

until he graduated in 1978. He competed in cross country and track in high school, and was described as a competitive runner but had no extraordinary results as a high-schooler. From his earliest years of running he was identified as having an unusual running form.

Collegiate

Petersen first attended

Farmingdale State College The State University of New York at Farmingdale (Farmingdale State College or SUNY Farmingdale) is a public college in East Farmingdale, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college was chartered in 1912 as a school of ap ...

for two years, and then transferred to

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was la ...

, where he graduated in 1981. At the time, Manhattan College had one of the most competitive collegiate distance running programs in the United States, and when Petersen transferred, the team had Bill Krohn.

Post-collegiate

Petersen initially intended on quitting running after college, but was offered a part-time position at Super Runners shop in Long Island, which was owned by the winner of the 1970

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

, Gary Muhrcke. He ran for Warren Street Social and for a time was sponsored by

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

. In 1991 he collapsed in the middle of a workout in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

and was subsequently diagnosed with a heart irregularity, which ultimately ended his competitive running career. He married Bea Huste-Petersen, also a marathoner, and had four children. They both started a foundation for

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

called the EJ Autism Foundation.
John Jeansonne. "High Mileage Help". EJ Autism Foundation. October 29, 2006

Achievements

Source:

Association of Road Racing Statisticians 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 record ...

(ARRS) profile: Pat Petersen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Pat 1959 births 2015 deaths American male long-distance runners American male marathon runners People from Nassau County, New York Track and field athletes from New York (state) Manhattan Jaspers track and field athletes Farmingdale State Rams men's track and field athletes