University of Richmond Athletics
Steve Taylor Honored with Pittsburgh Marathon Hall of Fame Induction
03/20/2019 | Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
The DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon and the Hall of Fame Committee recently announced the 11th class of inductees to the Pittsburgh Marathon Hall of Fame. The 2019 inductees include University of Richmond Coach Steve Taylor. This class will be inducted during the 2019 DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend of events from May 3-5, 2019.
"Running and coaching is not just something we do; it is who we are," Taylor said. "Both [my wife]Â Lori and I have dedicated our lives to competing and training athletes to compete at the highest level. For us it is a way of life. It is not a 9-5 occupation. It is not something we do for a couple of hours per day."
Taylor has been awarded two prestigious honors before this in his career. He earned induction into the Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame in June of 1999. During the fall of the same year, Taylor took his place among the Hokie greats when he was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
In his athletic career, Taylor began competing at a high level in high school. While attending Saint Mary's High, Steve Taylor was named a 1981 and 1982 All-American in Cross Country at the Kinney (now Foot Locker) National Championships. Upon high school graduation, Taylor attended Virginia Tech, where he earned All-American honors in both track for the 10,000 meters and cross country in 1987. Additionally, he led the Hokies to a fourth place finish in the NCAA Championships. At the age of 20, he won the Charleston Distance Classic (15 miles) with at time of 1:16:25. He won again in 1987 with a time of 1:14:31 and in 1989 with a time of 1:15:27. In 1988, he won the TAC (now USATF) 10,000-meter National Track Championship, the RRCA 8K National Championship and the the RRCA 10-mile National Championship. That same year, he also qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials and ran 10,000 meters in 27:59. In 1989, Taylor set the still-standing national age record for 10 miles with a 47:01 performance at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. The following year, he ran his half-marathon personal best of 1:02:29 in Toronto and went on to finish the Columbus Marathon in 2:13:56 in his marathon debut. He represented the U.S. at the 1991 World Marathon Cup in London, running 2:14:55 to lead the U.S. team. Later that year, he competed in the World Championships in Tokyo, where he was the second U.S. finisher. At the 1992 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials, he finished sixth and became the second alternate (time qualifier) for the Olympic Games. In 1999, he was inducted into both the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame and the Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame. He continues to give back to the sport he loves, and in 2013, he co-founded the Collegiate Running Association. In 2018, Taylor was honored by USA Track and Field with the H. Browning Ross Long Distance Running Merit Award for his contributions and service to the sport of long distance running at the national level.
He has been coaching at the NCAA Division I level since 1991. He is currently the men's head coach at the University of Richmond, where he and his wife Lori lead the Spiders men's and women's cross country and track and field programs and reside with their son, Luke.
