Pat Petersen

For the American actor, see Patrick Petersen.

Patrick Petersen (December 3, 1959 – May 31, 2015) was an American long-distance runner who once held the American record for the marathon, when he ran 2:10:04 at the 1989 London Marathon It was a record that stood for 9 years, until it was finally broken in 1999 by Khalid Khannouchi's world-record run of 2:05:42 in that year's Chicago Marathon. .^[2]

Pat Petersen

Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	(1959-12-03)December 3, 1959 Rockville Centre, New York
Died	May 31, 2015(2015-05-31) (aged 55)
Sport
Sport	Track, long-distance running
Event(s)	5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, marathon
College team	Farmingdale State College Manhattan College
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	10,000 meters: 28:19.3[1] Marathon: 2:10:04 (National Record)[1]

Running career

High school

Petersen attended Islip High School until he graduated in 1977. He competed in cross country and track in high school, and was described as a competitive runner but had no extraordinary results as a high-schooler. From his earliest years of running he was identified as having an unusual running form.^[3]

Collegiate

Petersen first attended Farmingdale State College for two years, and then transferred to Manhattan College, where he graduated in 1981. At the time, Manhattan College had one of the most competitive collegiate distance running programs in the United States, and when Petersen transferred, the team had Bill Krohn.

Post-collegiate

Petersen initially intended on quitting running after college, but was offered a part-time position at Super Runners shop in Long Island, which was owned by the winner of the 1970 New York City Marathon, Gary Muhrcke. He ran for Warren Street Social and for a time was sponsored by Adidas.^[3] In 1991 he collapsed in the middle of a workout in Central Park and was subsequently diagnosed with a heart irregularity, which ultimately ended his competitive running career.^[2] He married Bea Huste-Petersen, also a marathoner, and had four children. They both started a foundation for autism called the EJ Autism Foundation.^[4]

He died as a result of pancreatic cancer in May 2015, at the age of 55. ^[5]

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
1983	New York City Marathon	New York City, United States	12th	Marathon	2:12:06
1984	New York City Marathon	New York City, United States	4th	Marathon	2:16:35
1985	London Marathon	London, England	6th	Marathon	2:11:23
	New York City Marathon	New York City, United States	3rd	Marathon	2:12:59
1986	London Marathon	London, England	4th	Marathon	2:12:56
1987	London Marathon	London, England	12th	Marathon	2:12:42
	New York City Marathon	New York City, United States	4th	Marathon	2:12:03
1989	London Marathon	London, England	7th	Marathon	2:10:04 NR
	New York City Marathon	New York City, United States	10th	Marathon	2:14:02

Source: Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) profile: Pat Petersen.