Jon Anderson (athlete)

Jon P. Anderson (born 1949), a lifelong Eugene, Oregon resident, is an editor, publisher, and runner best known for winning the 1973 Boston Marathon. Anderson was a competitive long distance runner from 1966 to 1984, and represented the United States as a member of the 1972 US Olympic track and field team.

Collegiate career

In 1971, Anderson graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, with a bachelor’s degree in economics. In the Ivy League and at the national level, Anderson had many achievements in during his collegiate career. In 1969 and 1970, Anderson was an Ivy League cross country first team selection. In the spring of 1970, he was named an NCAA All-American when he placed third in the NCAA Division I six-mile at Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Iowa. He was also the Heptagonal and Ivy League Cross Country Champion in 1970. During his final year at Cornell, Anderson was elected to the Sphinx Head Society, the oldest senior honor society at Cornell.

The Olympics 10K, Boston Marathon, and beyond

After graduating from Cornell in 1971, Anderson qualified for the 1972 US Olympic track and field team in the 10,000 meters event at the US Olympic Trials in his hometown, Eugene, Oregon. His father, Les Anderson, was the mayor of Eugene at that time. In front of hometown fans in a stirring finish, Anderson passed Jack Bachelor in the final 50 meters of the race, making up more than eight seconds in the last lap on Bachelor to surprise all in earning the third spot on the US Olympic team. He ran the 10,000 meters at the Munich Olympics, placing eighth in his heat in 28:34.2, but not making the final. Anderson had begun his running career in Eugene as a senior at Sheldon High School. Bill Bowerman, the legendary University of Oregon track coach and a longtime family friend, taught Anderson the fundamentals of distance running at the beginning of his serious competitive distance running career.

Anderson "was immortalized as the first athlete to win an international event in Nike shoes" (Nike Campus-Oregon). Anderson achieved his greatest success in 1973, winning the 77th Boston Marathon, in a time of 2:16:03. At 6'2", Anderson and the 1942 winner, Bernard Joseph Smith, were Boston's tallest champions. Later in 1973, he placed fourth in the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan. Anderson also represented the US at the 1977 World Cross Country Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Anderson's best marathon time is 2:12:08, turned in at the 1980 Nike-OTC Marathon, in Eugene, Oregon.

In June, 1981, Anderson won the Antwerp Marathon in Belgium, and later that year he won the Honolulu Marathon in Hawaii, where he was timed in 2:16:54. Anderson clocked 2:13:18 in winning a June, 1984, marathon in Sydney, Australia.

Professional career

In 1974, Jon Anderson joined Random Lengths Publications, which publishes forest products market activity and price reports. He was named president and publisher in 1984-1985. He currently serves on the University of Oregon Foundation Board of Trustees.

References

External links

* [http://www.honolulumarathon.org/l/Facts___Figures/history/Historybyyear/1981.htm HonoluluMarathon.org] - 'Oregon editor grabs the headlines', Honolulu Marathon
* [http://www.randomlengths.com/base.asp?s1=RL_Staff RandomLengths.com] - 'The Random Lengths Reporting and Editorial Staff'