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Pete started running
at Pittsford high school near Rochester, New York, with a best of 9:18
for 2 miles. As an undergraduate at Cornell University, Pete won the
Heptagonal 10,000 meters and indoor 3 mile titles. After receiving a
Bachelor of Science, Pete went on to earn an MBA from Cornell's Johnson
Graduate School of Management.
Pete's marathon debut was a 2:22 in 1980, followed by a 2:17:10 win at the 1980 Skylon International Marathon and followed this up with a 2:15:20 victory at the 1981 National Sports Festival Marathon, and third place in the 1981 Nike Marathon (2:12:41). In 1983 won the Winstone Auckland Marathon (2:12:19), finished second at the Montreal Marathon (2:12:33), and won the San Francisco Marathon (2:14:44). The early 1980's marked the height of competitive marathoning in the United States. At the 1984 Olympic Trials in Buffalo, Pete faced perhaps the most fearsome American field ever assembled; vying for the Games were world-record holder Alberto Salazar, 1983 Boston Marathon champion Greg Meyer, multiple Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon champion Bill Rodgers, 1980 Trials winner Tony Sandoval, and a dozen other sub-2:12 threats. Blending patient, self-focused tactics supported by single-minded preparation - Pete broke away from the pack and outkicked Salazar to win the race in 2:11:43. At the L.A. Games, he was the first American finisher, taking 11th place on a sultry afternoon in 2:13:53. Pete tuned up for the next Olympiad by running 2:12:28 at the 1985 World Cup Marathon, winning the San Francisco Marathon for a second time (2:13:29, 1986) and recording ninth- and third-place finishes at the 1986 (2:14:09) and 1987 (2:11:54) New York Marathons. He expanded his competitive horizons by earning a 1986 top-ten U.S. ranking in the 10,000 meters (28:41). Throughout his marathoning career, Pete worked for and was sponsored by New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. of Boston. At the 1988 Olympic Trials in New Jersey, Pete again qualified for the Olympic Team by taking third in 2:13:09. At the Games in Seoul, Pete was again the top American finisher, taking 14th place in 2:14:44 to cap off an astonishingly consistent career. Wanting to better understand the physiology of human performance, Pete enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Department of Exercise Science, where he focused his studies on exercise physiology and wrote his masters thesis on the reliability of lactate measurement during exercise. Pete considers himself very fortunate to have learned from a wide variety of coaches and athletes, including Tom Cole, his coach in his early years at Pittsford High School, and Jack Warner at Cornell University. Later, Pete gained invaluable insights into training and coaching from coaches Arch Jelley, Kevin Ryan, Bill Squires, Arthur Lydiard, Bill Dellinger, Dick Quax, Bob Sevene, and David Martin (and more recently from triathlon coaches Mark Elliott, Chris Pilone, John Hellemans and Sergio Santos). Pete has also received ongoing advice and support from coach and exercise physiologist Jack Daniels. Pete's first coaching experience was in 1979, when he guided the University of Massachusetts women's cross-country team to a win at the New England Championships. Thirty years later, Pete still enjoys assisting athletes to reach their full potential. In 2008, Pete was selected as a New Zealand Triathlon Coach for the Beijing Olympics. After working with athletes
and coaches as an exercise physiologist in Auckland, New Zealand since
1997, Pete is now Chief Executive of the New Zealand Academy of Sport
North Island. The Academy provides sports science, sports medicine,
career and education and planning support for approximately 500 elite
and developing athletes and 100 coaches in over 15 sports. Personal bests:
Pete resides in Auckland, New Zealand, with his wife Chrissey and their two daughters, Annika and Katrina. Another former Team New Balance runner, Chrissey - a 1988 Olympian for New Zealand in the 1500m - ran 15:32 and 32:33 for 5K and 10K on the roads and 4:06.4 and 8:47.5 for 1500m and 3000m on the track. |
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