(March 24, 2019)

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Pittsburgh, PA – The DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon and the Hall of Fame Committee recently announced the 11th class of inductees to the Pittsburgh Marathon Hall of Fame. The 2019 inductees include Collegiate Running Association Co-Founder, Steve Taylor. This class will be inducted during the 2019 DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend of events from May 3-5, 2019.

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“My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Pittsburgh Marathon and the Hall of Fame committee for this amazing honor”, Taylor said. “I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career as an athlete and more recently as a coach. I’ve always felt you must remember your roots and where you came from. I’m proud to claim Saint Marys, West Virginia as home. It’s that remarkable community that helped me lay a foundation for adulthood and shaped me into who I am today."    

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In 2018, Taylor was honored by USA Track and Field with the H. Browning Ross Long Distance Running Merit Award for his contributions and service to the sport of long distance running at the national level.  Prior to this he earned induction into the Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame in June of 1999 and during the fall of the same year, Taylor took his place among the Hokie greats when he was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

 

"My passion is this sport and every day I have the opportunity to help others pursue their own passions", Taylor added. "The Collegiate Running Association and our very mission is to provide and expand opportunities for athletes in this sport. When I was competing there were coaches, race directors and sponsors who supported and created opportunities for athletes like me, who were just trying to reach our goals. For many years I have known it was time to step up and support those chasing their own dreams by creating opportunities for them. I’m thankful to the many amazing people I've met through this sport, those who have supported me, believed in my ideas and continue to help make the sport better.”

In his athletic career, Taylor began competing at a high level in high school. While attending SMHS in Saint Marys, West Virginia, he placed 2nd in the Hershey Track & Field National Finals in the 1500M running 4:06.4 as a 14 year old. He was named a 1981 and 1982 All-American in Cross Country at the Kinney (now Foot Locker) National Championships placing 7th as a junior and 3rd as a senior on the Kissimmee, Florida course.  In the spring of his senior year he won the prestigious Penn Relays 3,000M in dramatic come-from-behind fashion covering the final 400M in 56.3 as the first ever West Virginia prep to compete in the world’s largest relay meet.  Before graduating as a prepster, he won 11 West Virginia state (WVSSAC) high school titles in cross country and track.

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Upon high school graduation, Taylor attended Virginia Tech, where he earned All-American honors in both track for the 10,000 meters and cross country in 1987. Additionally, he led the Hokies to a fourth place team finish in the 1987 NCAA Cross Country Championships with his individual 9th place finish. At the age of 20, he set the still-standing national age records for 15K (44:52) at the Gate River Run 15K (Jacksonville, FL) and the Half-Marathon (1:04.54) at the Savannah Half Marathon (Savannah, GA). In 1985 he won the Charleston Distance Classic (15 miles) with a time of 1:16:25. He won again in 1987 with a time of 1:14:31 and in 1989 with a time of 1:15:27.

 

In 1988, he won the TAC (now USATF) 10,000-meter National Track Championship in Tampa, Florida covering the final 800M of the event in 1:55.4. During the same year he won the RRCA 8K National Championship (Eugene, OR), the RRCA 10-mile National Championship (Raleigh, NC) and also qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials and ran 10,000 meters in 27:59. In 1989, Taylor set the still-standing national age record for 10 miles with a 47:01 performance at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. The following year, he ran his half-marathon personal best of 1:02:29 in Toronto and went on to finish the Columbus Marathon in 2:13:56 in his marathon debut. He represented the U.S. at the 1991 World Marathon Cup in London, running 2:14:55 to lead the U.S. team. Later that year, he competed in the World Championships in Tokyo, where he was the second U.S. finisher. At the 1992 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials, he finished sixth and became the second alternate (time qualifier) for the Olympic Games and then in 1995 he led the U.S. team in the World Marathon Cup held in Athens, Greece.

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Since 1991 Taylor has been coaching at the NCAA Division I level.  He is currently the head men's coach at the University of Richmond, where he and his wife (Lori) lead the Spiders men's and women's cross country and track and field programs. In 2010 he guided the Richmond Spiders men’s cross country team to 24th place in the NCAA D1 Championship and the men’s Atlantic 10 Conference team and individual titles the same year.  He and his wife have guided the Spiders to multiple league titles during their leadership. He has coached conference champions, All-American performers and world championship qualifiers while being named Coach of the Year four times during his career which has spanned 28 years.  The Spiders have earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors 17 years in a row for cross country and track & field (2001-2018) for maintaining a cumulative team GPA above 3.0.

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Taylor continues to give back to the sport he loves and is passionate about loyalty and developing partnerships that cultivate strong relationships, branding for businesses and fostering an environment that empowers individuals, teams and organizations to succeed. He is known to problem solve and move forward with solutions. An innovator, he co-founded the 501c3 Collegiate Running Association (CRA) in 2013 becoming the first organization to offer prize money specifically to college students in the sport of running (road, mountain & trail). To date the CRA and their race partners have awarded over $100,000 in prize money specifically to college students.

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Taylor lives in Richmond, Virginia where he resides with his wife and their son, Luke.

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Career Highlights: 2019 Pittsburgh Marathon Hall of Fame…2018 USATF H. Browning Ross Long Distance Running Merit Award…2018 USATF-Virginia Presidents Award...1999 Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame…1999 Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame…1992 U.S. Olympic Team Alternate (Marathon)…1991 U.S. World Championships Team Member (Marathon) / 1991 & 1995 IAAF World Marathon Cup-U.S. Marathon Team...1988 U.S. 10K National Champion (Track) / 1988 RRCA 10 Mile National Champion / 1988 RRCA 8K National Champion…U.S. Olympic Team Trials performer in 1988 (10K), 1992 & 1996 (Marathon)…Personal best performances of:  Mile -4:00.6 (Roanoke, VA, 1990) / 5,000M - 13:38 (Nikoping, Sweden, 1989) / 10,000M - 27:59 (Pittsburgh, PA, 1988) / 10 Miles - 47:01 (Washington, D.C., 1989) / Half-Marathon - 1:02:29 (Toronto, Canada, 1990) / Marathon -  2:13:56 (Columbus, Ohio, 1990).

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