George Buckheit
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 26, 1957 Rockville Centre, New York |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Track |
| Event(s) | 5000 metres, 10000 metres |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 5000 metres: 13:43[1] 10000 metres: 28:39[1] |
George Buckheit is a former long distance runner. After an illustrious collegiate career running for Bucknell University, during which he was named an All-American and inducted into the Bucknell Bisons Hall of Fame,[2] he went on to briefly compete for the United States in international competition and subsequently began coaching runners in the northern Virginia area. He is the founder and head coach of Capital Area Runners.[3]
Early life
Attending Albertus Magnus High School, Buckheit was noticed by track coach Dick Weis during a gym class in the spring of 1973 and he convinced Buckheit to run track. His AMHS team went on to become New York State Champions in Cross Country in the fall of 1974[4] and finished 2nd in the 2 Mile National Postal Championship, the only national high school team championship contested at that time.[5]
Running career
Collegiate
Buckheit, competing for Bucknell University, was the East Coast Conference cross country champion in 1977 and 1978 and winner of eight ECC indoor and outdoor track titles at distances ranging from 1500m to 10,000m, was All-East three straight years and an All-American in indoor and outdoor track as a senior.[6] He captained the first Bucknell team to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championship, leading the 1978 team to an 18th place finish at the NCAA meet. Earlier that season, Buckheit established a course record of 24:44.4 on Bucknell's 5.15 mile cross country course.[7] Buckheit's first qualification to a NCAA Track and Field Championship happened in 1977 when he qualified for the 5,000 meter discipline. In 1978 and 1979, he would qualify again although this time for the 10,000 meter race. On March 10, 1979, Buckheit placed third at the 1979 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship for the 3-mile race, running a time of 13:35.65.[8] On June 1, 1979, Buckheit placed 6th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the 10,000m run in a time of 28:55.36 earning his second All-America honor.[9] Buckheit won back-to-back Colonial Relays 10,000m titles in 1978 (29:24.0) and 1979 (29:08.9).[10]
Post-collegiate
On June 23, 1984, Buckheit won the Shelter Island 10K race and finished in 29:42.1 (min/sec).[11] Buckheit has held the course record for Philadelphia's 8.4 mile Schuylkill River Loop since 1981 with a time of 40:08.[12] His best results for the 5000 meter and the 10,000 meter on the track were 13:43 and 28:39 respectively.[1]
Coaching
Buckheit began his coaching career in 1979 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Bucknell University. After completing his competitive running career, he went on to coach marathon runners in the Washington, DC metropolitan region. He is the founder and head coach of the Capital Area Runners.[3] He coached Marine Corps Marathon Champions Mary Kate Bailey (2004) and Kristen Henehan (2007)[13] as well as 2012 British Olympic Marathoner Claire Hallissey.[14][15] Buckheit coached Hallissey to an 18th place finish in the 2010 World Half Marathon Championships.[16]
References
- ^ a b c CAR. "About the Coach of Capital Area Runners".
- ^ [1] Bucknell Bison - Hall of Fame: George Buckheit
- ^ a b CAR. "Capital Area Runners".
- ^ [2] Dick Weis- Stepinac Grad, Head coach at Oklahoma State for 25 years
- ^ [3] 17th Annual National Postal Results: 2 Mile National Postal - 1974
- ^ http://www.wikirun.com/Bucknell_University
- ^ [4] Bucknell - Special Collections - Yearbook Archive
- ^ [5] USC Track & Field: 1979 15th Indoor NCAA Indoor Results - Detroit, MI - Mar. 10, 1979
- ^ [6] 1979 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships - University of Illinois, Memorial Stadium, May 29--June 2, 1979
- ^ [7] Tribe Athletics: Colonial Relays All-Time Champions
- ^ [8] Shelter Island Run 10K History - By Nicholas Morehead
- ^ [9] Schuylkill River Loop Honor Roll - Philadelphia's Oldest Road Race
- ^ http://capitalarearunners.com/competitor__7-12.pdf
- ^ [10] Olympic Contenders: British Athletics Contenders for London 2012. Wade, John. 28 July 2012
- ^ [11] Washington Post: Arlington’s Claire Hallissey will run marathon for British Olympic team - By Amy Shipley, May 13, 2012
- ^ [12] German Road Races - UKA Athletics - News - World Half Marathon in Nanning - October 16, 2010