Which runner has inspired you more than any other? Serious responses please.

Starting out, Ryun. Then Keino, yes. We were 11-12 yr old track nuts and wondered what if, what if there were thousands of Keinos out there!? Liquori too.

Mid teens: Shorter, Viren, Wottle.

Late teens, 20s: Rodgers, Rono, Benoit-Samuelson

Thirties: Bob Kennedy, Lynn Jennings

Now: more these amazing high school runners and there are some amazing masters runners

Bill Rodgers was my hero when I started running as a high school freshman in the late 70s. Besides the fact that he was an American sub-2:10 marathoner, he also seemed to have a care free personality that was a bit off the beaten path. He made it seem interesting to be a distance runner who earned his living as a roadie and running shop owner. Certainly not an in-depth analysis, but I just appreciated that he seemed to genuinely love running.

I always liked front runners, Dave Bedford in particular.

Jack Bacheler.

I taught and coached - and ran - in Miami during Bacheler's Florida Track Club years. A FTC guy I met at a road race in Ft. Myers, Jerry Slaven, suggested I come up to Gainesville some time and "run with the guys." On Veterans Day (i.e. long week-end) '71 I did. Jerry said they met at Bacheler's grad school housing apartment at 6:30 A.M. I put on my racing flats, jogged a mile from my motel to warm up, and resolved to stay with them as long as I could. And wound up running the slowest 8-9 miler (mostly 7:00/pace) I had run in years. And in the afternoon they did a 3 mile warm-up loop before their work-out. Light bulb moment: So this is how they run 130-140/week. We had 11-12 in for the day before ever running fast.

Bacheler was clearly the man - the reason everyone else was there. The National XC champion and '68 Olympian in the 5,000. He had developed his training routine and anyone was welcome to join in. Like 3:54 miler Sam Bair and top steepler Barry Brown - and of course Frank Shorter (though Shorter took his morning runs a bit later). And guys like me.

So... I love the fact that "Bruce Denton" initiated this thread since Bruce Denton in John Parker's "Once a Runner" is, of course, Jack Bacheler.

Has to be oscar p. I've always wanted to get away with murder.

Super cliche but def Steve Prefontatine. He's the man who inspired me to lose a bunch of weight and work super hard at running. A former fatty now a top varsity High School runner; only Prefontaine's courage and unquenchable drive for success could spark that change in me and continue to push me towards improvement.

Beardsley, G.

Three people, from a small time D III runner to an all-time great.

1) A senior on my college xc team when I was a sophomore. The guy was around 26:00 for the 8k, much better than me but nothing amazing. What I admired about him was how much he seemed to live a healthy, whole life, how being fit was a big part of that, and how he always seemed really glad to have the opportunity to be running. He never got stressed before meets, never got down about injuries, did pretty well in classes, had a steady girlfriend he loved. He just seemed like he'd figured the whole thing out. That influenced how I wanted to live my life.

2) Kenenisa Bekele. The 2008 olypmic 5k just made my jaw drop. Read the letsrun recap afterwards, got really into the stats and the splits. Been a running geek ever since.

3) German Fernandez. I watched his 2009 wire-to-wire NCAA 1500 win and just loved the way he controlled the race, the elegance of his form.

The very first runner who ever inspired me was Abebe Bikila. I'll never forget watching those Bud Greenspan films of him running. Floating through the air in slow motion or striding smoothly over the cobblestones of the Appian Way, barefoot. He was the essence of running.

eamonn Coughlin worth a mention

came back from disappointment of finishing 4th in consecutive olympic finals

to win gold in inaugural world championships

among other achievements

El G. is the only one.

Pat Porter, Joan Benoit and Alberto Salazar immediately come to mind. More recently Chis Solinsky.