Charles Smead (born August 4, 1951)[1] is an American long-distance runner, who made his most significant mark on the sport taking second in the Marathon at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City.[2]

Chuck Smead
Chuck Smead (left) at 2012 Mount Washington Road Race
Personal information
BornAugust 4, 1951 (1951-08-04) (age 73)
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing the  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1975 Mexico City Marathon

Originally from Santa Paula High School in Santa Paula, California, where he was an outstanding 2 miler, taking second place at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational in 1968.[3]

He continued to excel in long distance at Humboldt State University,[4] where he won the NCAA Division II 6 mile/10000 metre Championship twice.[5] In 1972 he began a string of three straight wins in the famous Pikes Peak Marathon, he added a fourth victory in 1976.[6][7] He has completed the race six times, the most recent as a 57-year-old.[8] He also won the Avenue of the Giants Marathon in 1974[9] In 1980, he was runner up at the Chicago Marathon.[10]

In the 1970s he was one of the early luminaries of ultramarathoning,[11][12] yet as a Senior athlete he is not above sprinting 100 metres.[13] He was twice ranked in the United States top ten in the marathon.[14] He continues to be active, winning the M60 division of the 2012 USA Masters 5 km Cross Country Championships in October 2012.[15]

Smead has been credited with spreading the sport of ultramarathoning into Europe.[16][17][18]

References

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  1. ^ "Track and Field Statistics".
  2. ^ Lodi News-Sentinel
  3. ^ Arcadia History Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Humboldt State top 10
  5. ^ http://www.hickoksports.com/history/ncmd2otrack.shtml#10000mr Archived 2010-12-04 at the Wayback Machine NCAA Div II champions
  6. ^ "Pikes Peak Winners". Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  7. ^ Masters History
  8. ^ Pikes Peak Hill Climb
  9. ^ https://www.arrs.run/HP_AvGMa.htm Avenue of the Giants Marathon
  10. ^ http://assets.chicagomarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/2012-Bank-of-America-Chicago-Marathon-Media-Guide.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  11. ^ American Ultra
  12. ^ Silicon Valley Speedster Ultra Classic
  13. ^ "Colorado Senior Olympics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  14. ^ Track and Field News Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "2012 USA Masters 5 km Cross Country Championships Men's Age Division Results". Archived from the original on 2019-12-22. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
  16. ^ http://mostlypaved.blogspot.com/ Mostly Paved Blog
  17. ^ "Pablo: The Man Behind a Remarkable Sierre-Zinal Record - Run the Alps". 25 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Legends of the Trail". 24 February 2020.
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