Camille Herron (born December 25, 1981) is an ultrarunner, scientist, coach, ambassador, public speaker, and model. She is known for running with her hair down, a big smile, and eating tacos to fuel ultramarathons. She is a four-time IAU International Ultrarunner of the Year and six-time USATF Ultrarunner of the Year. She is the only athlete who’s won all of the IAU Ultra Road World Championships (50km, 100km, and 24Hrs). She is the first ultrarunner to win both the prestigious Comrades Marathon and Spartathlon. In 2023, she became the first woman to break 24 hours at the grueling 153-mile Spartathlon (22:35:31). She has set numerous ultra World and American Records between 50 miles and 48 hours. In 2023, she became the first woman to surpass a men’s American Record, when she improved the women’s 48Hr World Record by 14.8 miles to 270.505 miles (435.336km)- which also ranks her 3rd best ever in the world behind only two men. She has crossed over to trailrunning as well, with competitive wins at the JFK 50 miles, Bandera 100km, Black Canyon 100km, Tunnel Hill 100 (Course Record and Trail Best 12:42:40), Tarawera 100km and 100 miles (Course Records for both), and the Javelina Jundred (Course Record in 14:03:23). She has numerous overall wins on road/track/trail, beating all of the men. Additionally, she is a 3-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier (personal best of 2:37:14), 21-time marathon winner, competed on the 2011 US Pan American Team in the marathon (9th place), and set the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in a superhero costume (2:48:51 dressed as Spiderwoman). In April 2022, she became the youngest woman to reach 100,000 lifetime running miles.
Blake Russell (born July 24, 1975) is an American long-distance runner who represented her country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After finishing third in the marathon at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, she went on to finish 27th in the Olympic marathon in Beijing. She was the only American woman to finish the Beijing Olympic Marathon. She is a many time USA National Champion in Cross Country and the USA Road Racing Circuit over various distances. A high-school standout in North Carolina, Russell won 11 Independent School State Titles in the 800, mile, and 2 mile. She walked onto the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill team in 1993 and eventually earned All-American Honors and ACC Championship titles in the 1500m and 5000m her senior year. She set the school record in the 1500 meters went on to place 13th in the NCAA Track and Field Championships. Russell decided to run her first marathon on a whim and was the surprise winner of the Twin Cities Marathon in 2003. Her time of 2:30:41 was the 3rd fastest debut by an American at the time and qualified her for the 2004 Olympic Trials in St. Louis, MO. After leading much of the race, she faded to 4th place, just missing a spot on the Olympic Team. She participated at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, running in the 10,000 meters and finished in 22nd place. She was on the Bronze Medal 4k 2005 IAAF Cross Country Team in St. Etienne, France. She was 7th at the Chicago Marathon in 2005, setting her personal best of 2:29:10. She won the 8k National Cross Country Title in 2006. She went on to be the top American finisher at the IAAF Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka, Japan placing 11th in the 8k and 18th in the 4k. She was also National 15k and 20k Champion. After the 2008 Olympics, Russell had a son and made a successful return to the track, placing 4th in the 10,000 meters at the USA Track and Field Championships.
Daniel (Dan) J. Browne (born June 24, 1975) is an American distance runner. He attended the United States Military Academy as a member of the class of 1997. While at West Point, he became the only cadet to ever run a mile under four minutes (3:59.37), and set school records in the 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Upon graduating from West Point, he underwent basic officer training before being invited to join the Army’s World Class Athlete Program. In 1998, he won the short course USA Cross Country Championships. In 2004, he made the US Olympic team for the 10,000m and the Marathon, finishing 3rd in both distances at the trials. Browne won numerous road races during his career including the Army Ten-Miler, Twin Cities Marathon, and multiple USA Road Championship events for the 5K (2007), 20K (2007), and 25K (2009). Browne’s coaching career began in 2013 when he ran the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), which works to train top-ranked soldier athletes for the Olympic and Paralympic games.
Jared Ward (born September 9, 1988) was born in Layton, Utah. He attended Davis High School where he was a three-time state champion in the 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters, and sprint medley (2007). While in college, Ward ran for the BYU Cougars. At the 2014 U.S. Marathon championships hosted by the Twin Cities Marathon, Ward finished 2nd with a time of 2:14:00. At the 2015 USATF 25 km Championships and the 20 km Championships, Ward finished 1st at both events. In 2015, he was the US Marathon Champion, hosted by the Los Angeles, with a time of 2:12:56 Marathon. These three victories helped him secure the USATF Running Circuit title for 2015. On February 13, 2016 Ward finished third at the US Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles, California with a time of 2:13:00, behind Galen Rupp and Meb Keflezighi. This secured him a place on the 2016 US Olympic Team. On August 21, 2016, Ward finished 6th at the Olympic Marathon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, running a personal best time of 2:11:30 with the temperature in the 70s on a drizzly, humid morning. During the 2019 Boston Marathon, Ward finish eighth with a time of 2:09:25—a personal best and more than two minutes faster than when he finished sixth at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. In 2019, Ward placed sixth overall in the New York City Marathon and was the top American runner with a time of 2:10:45.
Nancy Hobbs has been running trails and directing running events since the mid-80s and her articles and photographs about the sport have been published in magazines including Runner’s World, Running Times, Trail Runner, and Ultrarunning magazine. Along with Adam W. Chase, Hobbs is the co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running, Best Trail Runs: Seattle; Best Trail Runs: Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs; Best Trail Runs: Portland; Best Trail Runs: San Francisco. She is the founder and executive director of the American Trail Running Association, a council member of the World Mountain Running Association, and chairperson of the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council. She was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame in 2013. She lives in Colorado Springs, CO, but travels extensively nationally and worldwide to support and promote trail and mountain running.
Automatic Induction by RRCA
Lewis Deerfoot Bennett, a Seneca Indian from the Cattaraugus Reservation, dominated the long-distance racing scene in the mid-19th century. Born in 1830, Bennett ran under the name “Deerfoot,” and achieved amazing feats on both sides of the Atlantic. Deerfoot won his first race in 1856 at the Erie County fair, running five miles in 25 minutes. His victory earned him a purse of $50. His reputation spread beyond Western New York, and he raced frequently at fairs all over the Northeast. An English sports promoter heard of Deerfoot and booked him on a 20-month European tour, where he went from mysterious runner, to entertainer, to world record holder. The intense competition against the best British and Irish runners helped him improve dramatically. With the aid of pace makers, he set world records of 10 miles in 51:26 and 12 miles in 1:02:02.
Deerfoot’s physical appearance and manners added to his attraction. He stood tall, at almost 6 feet, and weighed 160 pounds. He ran most of his races with a naked chest, wearing a feather apron around his waist and a band with one eagle feather around his head. His dark complexion was a stark contrast to the sun-starved British athletes. He yelled war whoops as he raced to victory. His popularity extended rapidly beyond the racing crowd, and The Prince of Wales attended many races and contributed to the purse. Following his return to America, Deerfoot continued to run locally, limiting his races to Western New York, New York City and Boston. In August 1868, he won a five-mile race in Buffalo in 24:15, despite giving the rest of the field a quarter-mile head start.
Photo: Deerfoot ” (Lewis Bennett) in London , 1861. Photograph by George Newbold , London. Photo courtesy Museum of Mankind, London.
https://www.buffalosportshallfame.com/member/lewis-deerfoot-bennett/