Distance Hall of Fame

Lebow, Dellinger, Jennings, Virgin Elected to Distance Hall of Fame

BOSTON - (April 14, 2001) - At the Boston Marathon's Champions' Breakfast on
Saturday, the National Distance Running Hall of Fame announced its fourth
class of inductees: Fred Lebow, Bill Dellinger, Lynn Jennings and Craig
Virgin.

As President of the New York Road Runners Club, Fred Lebow was best known
for directing the New York City Marathon and turning it into the most celebrated
road race in the world. The running impresario had a leading hand in making
the New York Road Runners Club grow from 270 members in 1972, to
31,000-plus, making the NYRRC the world's largest organization of its kind. Lebow died of
brain cancer in 1994.

Bill Dellinger, coached by the late Bill Bowerman, was the 5000 meter bronze
medalist at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He later became Assistant Track
Distance Coach alongside Bowerman at the University of Oregon and in 1973,
Dellinger became the Head Coach and led Oregon to the 1984 NCAA outdoor
championship and four NCAA cross country titles. He personally coached such
U.S. distance stars as Steve Prefontaine and Alberto Salazar, both 2000
Inductees and Mary Slaney.

Lynn Jennings, a three-time Olympian, won the 1992 Olympic 10,000 meter
bronze medal in Barcelona. Jennings captured her record ninth USA cross
country title in 1996 and won the prestigious World title three years in a
row (1990-92). The Princeton graduate also has won 39 U.S. national titles
(the most ever in the sport).

Craig Virgin is the only American male to win the World Cross Country
Championships (1980-81) as well as being a three-time Olympian at the 10,000
meter distance in 1976, 1980 and 1984. The Illinois graduate was the 1976
NCAA Cross Country Champion, as well as former National High School Record
Holder in the 2 Mile.

The four members will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Saturday, July 7 at
Utica, New York as part of the Utica Boilermaker 15K weekend. For more
information, contact Amy R. Hunt at the National Distance Running Hall of
Fame, 114 Genesee Street in Utica, New York, (315) 724-4525. Visit the Hall
of Fame website at: http://www.distancerunning.com/

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