Jeff Wells
Jeff Wells (born 25 May 1954[1][2]) is a marathon runner and pastor, originally from Madisonville, Texas, United States.
Early life and education
Wells attended Rice University, majored in history, and was named an All-American four times in cross country and track.[3]
Running
Wells finished first in the 1976 Houston Marathon,[2] the 1976 Dallas White Rock Marathon,[2] the 1977 Honolulu Marathon,[1] the 1977[2] and 1979 Nike OTC Marathons,[4] the 1980 Stockholm Marathon,[1] and the 1985 Wang New Zealand Marathon.[2]
He came in second place to Bill Rodgers, by just two seconds, in the closest Boston Marathon finish to date, at the 1978 Boston Marathon, finishing in his fastest-ever marathon time of 2:10:15.[1] Wells's time was either the third- or fourth-fastest by an American to that date, behind three runs by Rodgers, one of which was on a New York Marathon course later found to be shorter than the standard marathon length.
He finished fifth, in 2:13:16, at the 1980 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Buffalo, New York, and fourth in the Olympic Trials 10,000-meter run in the same year.[2]
He was the top American finisher, finishing 24th overall, at the 1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior men's race.[3]
Pastor
Wells is the founding pastor of the WoodsEdge Community Church in Spring, Texas.[5]
Achievements
Source: ARRS[2]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Houston Marathon | Houston, Texas | 1st | Marathon | 2:17:46 |
| White Rock Marathon | Dallas, Texas | 1st | Marathon | 2:15:11 | |
| 1977 | Nike OTC Marathon | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | Marathon | 2:13:15 |
| Honolulu Marathon | Honolulu, Hawaii | 1st | Marathon | 2:18:37 | |
| 1978 | Boston Marathon | Boston, Massachusetts | 2nd | Marathon | 2:10:15 |
| 1979 | Nike OTC Marathon | Eugene, Oregon | 1st (tied) | Marathon | 2:10:20 |
| 1980 | Stockholm Marathon | Stockholm, Sweden | 1st | Marathon | 2:15:49 |
| 1985 | Wang New Zealand Marathon | Auckland, New Zealand | 1st | Marathon | 2:16:43 |
References
- ^ a b c d "Jeff Wells and the Boston Marathon". marathon-training-program.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g "ARRS - Runner: Jeff Wells". arrs.run.
- ^ a b "Athlete profile for Jeff Wells - iaaf.org". iaaf.org.
- ^ Moore, Kenny (September 17, 1979). "The Quick In A Dead Heat". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2015-10-06. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
- ^ "Staff". woodsedge.org. Archived from the original on 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
