Don Kardong

Don Kardong (actually Donald Franklin Kardong; born December 22, 1948 in Kirkland , Washington ) is a former American long-distance runner .

In 1972 he won the West Valley Marathon in 2:18:06 h and was sixth in the US elimination race for the Olympic Games in Munich in 2:22:42 h.

In 1976 he came in 37th place at the World Cross Country Championships in Chepstow . In the US elimination race for the Olympic Games, he was third behind Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers in 2:13:54 h. He then won the Peachtree Road Race .

At the Olympic Marathon in Montreal he was fourth in 2:11:16 h, three seconds behind the bronze medalist Karel Lismont .

In 1977 he became US runner -up in the marathon and tenth in the New York City Marathon . In 1978 he finished seventh in the Boston Marathon and won the Honolulu Marathon . In 1987 he won the Le Grizz 50 mile ultra marathon .

Since 1987 he has been a journalist for Runner's World . From 1996 to 2000 he was President of the Road Runners Club of America.

In 1977 he founded the Lilac Bloomsday Run in Spokane , of which he has been race director since 2004. In 2005 he was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame .

Personal bests

• 5000 m : 13: 35.0 min, June 5, 1976, Eugene
• 10,000 m : 28: 56.2 min, August 16, 1975, Eugene
• Marathon: 2:11:16 h, July 31, 1976, Montreal

Publications

• Thirty Phone Booths To Boston: Tales of a Wayward Runner. Macmillan, 1985, ISBN 0025606808
• Bloomsday: A City in Motion. Cowles, 1989, ISBN 0923910034
• Hills, Hawgs and Ho Chi Minh: More Tales of a Wayward Runner. Keokee, 1995, ISBN 1879628120

Web links

• Athlete portrait at the ARRS
• Don Kardong in the database of trackfield.brinkster.net (English)
• Interview with Michael A. Musca in Runner's World , June 16, 2005
• Entry into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame
• Don Kardong in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )