Who would you place on the “Mount Rushmore of Distance Running?”

It is a question that begs a lot more questions about criteria. Is this the ‘best long distance runners by time? World medals? Most well known by the average person? Is it the most accomplished by some other standard? How about middle distance?’

This is the beauty of the Mount Rushmore concept. To get your face on a mountain, you have to have made a significant contribution to the sport – enough that would warrant such an honor. “Contribution,” I suppose, is left to your discretion. Here is who I have:

Tier 1

Bill Bowerman

Paavo Nurmi

Kip Keino

Roger Bannister

Tier Two

Emil Zatopek

Arthur Lydiard

Steve Prefontaine

Haile Gebrselassie

American Only

Bill Bowerman

Steve Prefontaine

Jim Ryun

Frank Shorter

Women Only:

Joan Benoit Samuelson

Mary Decker

Deena Kastor

Molly Huddle

If I could actually choose, it would be these four faces:

Jane Remark – keep the maiden name

Myself – obviously

Glen Ellingson – in the pose of him falling over on the track in the state 3200

Zatopek – …put the legend’s face right by mine, if possible.