E. Garry Hill ?
E. Garry Hill ?
roadracing bias wrote:
E. Garry Hill ?
Alkies don't count.
As it always happens with this kind of lists I don't agree with many of the people here (for starters almost all of them are Americans), however, the fact that the Johnson Brothers made the list is more than deserved, what they do for running has really helped the running community grow in such a distant place ad Tabasco, Mexico.
Down here media coverage of running is non existent, 15 years ago we started a small running club and there was not a single source of information, discussion and advice for us. So, when we discovered letsrun.com it was like a prayer answered, since then we became junkies of your site, it has really meant a lot having a resource like yours.
So congratulations Robert and Weldon, keep up with your great job and feel free to come visit anywhere you want, you'll love being here.
As with any list, lots of talk of who was not included and who should have been left off. To me, a glaring omission is Jack Daniels. Daniels' Running Formula has a huge, and far-reaching, impact on our sport. Look at the top US high school distance times each year before his book came out and then the times after. Some have argued Jack deserves much of the credit for that. His book allowed high school coaches who were not distance experts to have easy access to simple, yet scientifically-based, training programs for their athletes. Plenty of adult runners use the book and training plans, as well.
Even distance runners who don't use his training plans frequently use his VDOT chart to determine training paces or race-equivalents for various distances.
Been saying this for years. When you have access to every IP address from every poster, you have a lot of power. Congrats, Brojos.
While I consider myself to be a huge Bobbi Gibb fan versus a Switzer fan, Switzer's publicity was certainly way more influential. It's funny to think that Gibb was a bandit and Switzer was a registered runner. Maybe the hate for Boston bandits was too strong among the voters.
DietersWorld wrote:
And Bobbi Gibb should be there instead of Switzer.
Did I miss Ray Flynn's name on there ??
Bogus list ity does not have Stephanie Hightower at the tippy tippy top.
Bwahaha! Nobody cares about these guys except in their own minds.
With all due respect to Mark Parker, how is John Capriotti or even his boss John Slusher at Nike not on this list? Cap is the man who pulls the trigger on the major deals for the federations, meets/races, and athletes! Cap is the guy responsible for Nike's dominance at the world level in track & field and running!
And while we're at it, why isn't Ricky Simms (Bolt and Farah's agent) not included?!?
And how is it that Jim Weber & Sally Bergesen are on this? Not very many people outside the USA could pick them out of a police lineup.
This RW piece is just trash.
Besides Flynn, no Ricky Simms, Jos Hermens, Mark Wetmore (the manager) on the list, no representative of adidas, but Oiselle, Hoka One One, Osmo nutrition, Leslie Jordan and a bunch of bloggers are mentioned?
Also Seppelt is overrated, he doens't have more influence on the running community than the guy or girl who invented reflection clothing like Brooks Nightlife.
Also, I found it hard to believe, they didn't mention anyone from Asics and the London marahon organization.
Marketing one's self often supersedes deeds. More like the Claudette Colvin / Rosa Parks situation.Since women (and disabled people) were not allowed to race at all it was different than the traditional bandit definition, or maybe bandits in definition only. It was discrimination that kept them out. Gibb's efforts FAR exceeded Switzer's later publicity.
kanny wrote:
While I consider myself to be a huge Bobbi Gibb fan versus a Switzer fan, Switzer's publicity was certainly way more influential.
It's funny to think that Gibb was a bandit and Switzer was a registered runner. Maybe the hate for Boston bandits was too strong among the voters.
DietersWorld wrote:And Bobbi Gibb should be there instead of Switzer.
Hansons?
Showing my age on the way to the pasture: since it says "influential" I immediately think Shorter and Rodgers. Time to quit and move on I guess.
Missing person wrote:
As with any list, lots of talk of who was not included and who should have been left off. To me, a glaring omission is Jack Daniels. Daniels' Running Formula has a huge, and far-reaching, impact on our sport. Look at the top US high school distance times each year before his book came out and then the times after. Some have argued Jack deserves much of the credit for that. His book allowed high school coaches who were not distance experts to have easy access to simple, yet scientifically-based, training programs for their athletes. Plenty of adult runners use the book and training plans, as well.
Even distance runners who don't use his training plans frequently use his VDOT chart to determine training paces or race-equivalents for various distances.
That is odd seeing how RW deemed him 'Best Coach in The World', or whatever title they gave him, a few years ago.
Regardless, his book has had a lot of impact on both runners and coaches.
To the people bringing up Shorter, Rodgers, and Daniels: This is a 2015 list.
Outside of some speaking engagements, Shorter and Rodgers are not really affecting the daily progressive of the sport. Daniels still has some influence, but it is because of a book that is over 15 years old. That's a bit like saying Ronald Reagan is an influential politician in 2015. It's true that his influence is felt, but he is not actively shaping things.
Bullseye on Capriotti. Extraordinarily inaccurate list without him. I agree, the article is trash.
woem is me wrote:
With all due respect to Mark Parker, how is John Capriotti or even his boss John Slusher at Nike not on this list? Cap is the man who pulls the trigger on the major deals for the federations, meets/races, and athletes! Cap is the guy responsible for Nike's dominance at the world level in track & field and running!
And while we're at it, why isn't Ricky Simms (Bolt and Farah's agent) not included?!?
And how is it that Jim Weber & Sally Bergesen are on this? Not very many people outside the USA could pick them out of a police lineup.
This RW piece is just trash.
answerer of criticism wrote:
Interested and updated wrote:I'll take them in order of what should be most embarrassing to least....
Scott Jurek? Really? Have you heard of an obscure little book called Born to Run, which sold a gazillion copies? He was a central character in the book, which was read by all interested and updated runners as well as non-runners looking for a colorful read. Ask your grandmother about Scott Jurek. She can probably update you.
Lauren Fleshman. If you were following running as recently as 5 years ago, you'd know Lauren was a significant distance runner and the US 5K champ multiple times. (Okay. So you're young and don't read)
Amelia Boone - as an interested runner I have my TiVo set to pick up all sporting events related to running and t&f. She's big in the Spartan world, and just last week I watched her compete in a rerun of the Blue Mountain race. Was actually there the day after she competed to cheer on my son in law who ran the sprint distance. She was also on the cover of Runners World not to long ago. (Don't you at least glance at the running mags when your in a store?)
Ellie Greenwood. Less embarrassing to miss her as ultras don't get air time or much coverage outside of a few magazines with smaller circulation numbers. I happen to know the name because she won the JFK 50 the last time I ran it. She's put together some impressive wins.
learn to read, it says most people won't know who Lauren Fleshman is, I do know her but in the real world of running, looking outside the tiny US bubble, she is a nobody compared to Haile or lots of others. She certainly is not one of the 50 most influental people in running!
As for the rest. So you confirm they are all ultra plodders . ZzzZZZzzZZZzzZZZzzz. Wake me up when we are talking about someone who actually RUNS FAST. Coz ultraslow people don't interest me.
Sorry. I thought the little rascal stated this to be fact:
Very few even among the running community will have heard of Lauren Fleshman
You and I are in the running community and are familiar with Lauren; therefore 100% of the running community who had responded to this survey thus far have heard of her. I'm betting the number doesn't drop too much as the survey broadens.
I'm bad at reading so I'll assume you have won your argument.
The little squirt is not stating whether she belongs on the list or not - just that few of us in the running community have ever heard of her.
Whether or not people know Fleischmann is irrelevant I cannot think of anyone who is influenced by her. Can anyone really say they are?
How are any of these people "influential"?
Lauren Fleshman – Distance runner, US champion
Amelia Boone* – Obstacle course racer
Ellie Greenwood and Rob Krar – Ulta runners
Adrian Bijanada – Creator or Obstacle Course Racing World Championships
Rich Kenah – Executive director Atlanta Track Club, former Olympic mid-distance runner
Ray Maker – Founder of DC Rainmaker gear review site
Travis Snyder – Founder and CEO of Color Run
Robin Thurston – Chief Digital Officer at Under Armour, co-founder MapMyFitness
Mo’ath Alkhawaldeh – Jordanian marathoner, Officer at Generations for Peace – a peace-building non-profit
Molly Barker – Founder of Girls on the Run
Ashley Hick-Rocha and Toni Carey* – Co-Founder of Black Girls Run!
Brogan Graham and Bojan Mandaric* – Co-founders of The November Project
Kathrine Switzer – First official female finisher of Boston Marathon
Irene Davis and Daniel Lieberman – Running biomechanics researchers
Andrew Johnson – World-class scientist, Head of Sport and Health Sciences at University of Exeter (U.K.)
Stacy Sims* – Exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist, founder of Osmo Nutrition
Paul Williams – Scientist responsible for the National Runners’ and Walkers’ Health Study – the preeminent longitudinal study of the health impact of the sport