- Alan Culpepper
Alan Culpepper (born
15 September ,1972 ) is an American distance runner. His accomplishments include finishing fourth in theBoston Marathon in 2005, winning the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon and finishing 12th at the 2004 Olympic Marathon inAthens . His 2:09:41 at the 2002Chicago Marathon tied him withAlberto Salazar for the fastest ever debut marathon by an American, and remains his fastest marathon. Culpepper has won three U.S. Cross Country titles and three track titles (two at 10,000m and one at 5,000m).Early career
Culpepper graduated in 1991 from Coronado HS in
El Paso, Texas . In 1989 and 1990 he won five Texas state titles in cross country and track, but did not compete in his final season (1991).He went on to attend the University of Colorado in
Boulder, Colorado , where he developed into a national-class runner. In 1996 he won theNCAA outdoor 5,000m title and placed 10th at the Olympic Trials in that event; the following year he improved to 2nd at the USATF Nationals (behindBob Kennedy ) and represented the USA at the 1997 World Championships.Professional career
Following graduation from Colorado, Culpepper continued to live and train near Boulder.
In 1999 he won his first open national title, the USA Cross Country Championships. That spring he also won the 10,000m at the USATF Outdoor Championships and ran that event at the 1999 World Championships. In 2000, he took second in the 10,000m at the U.S. Olympic Trials, overtaking champion
Mebrahtom Keflezighi in the final lap but not quite managing to pass him by the finish line.Culpepper represented the U.S. at 10,000m at the 2001 World Championships as well. He won another U.S. track championship in 2002 when he took the 5,000m title. That fall, in his debut marathon in Chicago, he ran 2:09:41. In 2003, he won the U.S. 10,000m title.
After taking 2003 off from marathons, Culpepper ran his second at the U.S. Olympic Trials in
Birmingham, Alabama . Renewing his long-time rivalry with Keflezighi, Culpepper bested "Meb" in 2:11:42, with the lead changing several times in the final miles. Culpepper then placed 12th at the Athens Olympic Marathon, which would have been the best performance by an American marathoner in several Olympics had Keflezighi not won the silver medal.In 2005, Culpepper ran a 13:25.75 personal best in the 5,000 meter run at the 2005 Norwich Union British Grand Prix in
London ,England . He ran 2:11:02 to take fifth in the 2006 Boston Marathon, being overtaken by Brian Sell in the last mile.At the 2007 US Cross-Country Championships, Culpepper won his third cross country title, finishing first in the 12,000m with a time of 37:09. (This race is featured in the documentary, SHOWDOWN - Five Elite Distance Runners, One Dream.)
Personal
Culpepper married American distance runner
Shayne Culpepper (formerly Shayne Wille), also a University of Colorado graduate, in 1997. They have two sons, Cruz Samuel (b. 2002) and Levi (b. June 2006).Recent News
On February 10, 2007, Alan won the Open Men's 12K at the 2007 USA Cross Country Championships in Boulder, Colorado. He finished the race, held at Flatirons Golf Course, in a time of 37:09. [http://boulder2007.com/results/USATFMOPENPLC.HTM] It was Culpepper's third USA Cross Country victory; he also won in 1999 and 2003.
External links
* [http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_1289.htm U.S. Olympic Team bio]
* [http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Culpepper_Alan.asp USATF Bio]
* [http://www.showdownrace.com/athletes.php ShowdownRace.com]
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