Greg Meyer (born September 18, 1955) is an American long-distance runner. Meyer's winning time for the 1983 Boston Marathon race was 2:09.00. He was the last American to win the Boston Marathon until 2014, and the last person born in America to win the Chicago Marathon until 2017. He set ten American road racing records and two

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

s, and won the River Bank Run, in his home town of Grand Rapids, seven times.

Personal life

Meyer was born in

Grand Rapids, MI Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

to parents Rita and Jay. He has one older sibling, Matthew Meyer. Meyer is a 1973 graduate of Grand Rapids

West Catholic High School West Catholic High School is a private Catholic college preparatory secondary school in Grand Rapids, Michigan (U.S.). It opened in 1962 with loans from Kenowa Hills Public Schools. It is located within the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids. ...

. In 1977 he earned a degree in education and social studies from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor, MI Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all ...

. In 1986 he earned a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

degree from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

. He met and married fellow runner Paula Lettis in 198

while living in Boston and together they had three children, Nicolle (1981), Jacob (1983) and Daniel (198

Meyer and Lettis divorced in 2005 while living in Dexter, MI. Meyer remarried in May 2019. He and his wife Kerry reside near

Rockford, MI Rockford is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,719 at the 2010 census. Located along the Rogue River, the city is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is about north of the city of Grand Rapi ...

Career

Greg was employed from approximately 2000 through 2008 by the University of Michigan as director of Major Gifts for the Greater Michigan Regio

where he helped raise over $125 million for the university. From 2008-2012 Meyer served as Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Aquinas College. In Fall of 2012, he became the VP & Executive Director of the Aquinas Foundation. After his time at Aquinas, he served as the VP of Development and Communication for the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids from 2015-2018. In October 2018, Greg joine
University of Michigan Health-West
as their Chief Community Officer aligning his track record ''(no pun intended)'' in building community relationships perfectly with the hospital system's mission of relentlessly advancing health to serve West Michigan.

Running accomplishments

Meyer set American road racing records in the 8K, the 10K, and the 15K. He set world records in the 10-mile run and the 25K. He was the first

runner to break the four-minute mile mark. In 1978, Meyer won the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union's

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

title, in 29:35.9, narrowly edging out

Alberto Salazar Alberto Salazar (born August 7, 1958) is an American former track coach and long-distance runner. Born in Cuba, Salazar immigrated to the United States as a child with his family, living in Connecticut and then in Wayland, Massachusetts, where ...

.Meyer Runs 29:35.9, Takes A.A.U. Title
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 1, 2018. The U.S. boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics, and Meyer finished 7th in the 1984 Trials. Meyer's winning time for the 1983 Boston Marathon race was 2:09.00. He was the last American to win the Boston Marathon until 2014, and the last person born in America to win the Chicago Marathon until 2017. He set ten American road racing records and two

s, and won the River Bank Run, in his home town of Grand Rapids, seven times. Meyer was inducted into the U of M Athletic Hall of Honor and was inducted into th
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

References

External links

National Distance Running Hall of Fame profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Greg Living people 1955 births Sportspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan American male long-distance runners American male marathon runners Chicago Marathon male winners Boston Marathon male winners University of Michigan alumni People from Dexter, Michigan Boston University School of Education alumni

Personal life

Career

Running accomplishments

See also

References

External links