Mark Conover, who stunned the American running world when he won the 1988 Olympic Marathon Trials in 1988, died on Wednesday, April 6, at age 61, of a recurrent cancer. A distinguished college coach, Conover also became an inspiring advocate of running as a positive force in times of ill health.
Conover will long be remembered for the unexpectedness and scale of his marathon breakthrough on the day that mattered (a PR by more than 5 minutes), and for the courage and grace of his prolonged struggle with cancer.
Foot Locker XC Resultsth at the 1992 Olympic Marathon Trials, when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1993. He recovered, after extensive treatment, and qualified for and ran in the 1996 Olympic Marathon Trials.
He then started his coaching career, married Kelly Cordell (an All-American at Arizona State), and in 2007 became the devoted father of triplets—another surprise that reshaped his life.
Cancer returned in 2018 in the form of mantle cell lymphoma. Conover’s response was to contribute to Runner’s World an unforgettably moving and powerful affirmation of the positive effect of running, and the value of the support of the running community, in the midst of probably terminal illness.
“We all know the health benefits of running...but when you’ve got a life-threatening illness, running becomes even more important,” he wrote, detailing the gains in blood flow, self esteem, and pain management, as well as the moral and practical support he received from the running community. One friend even marketed running socks with Conover’s image on them as a fundraiser for his medical costs.
Conover seemed to have gained another reprieve after a stem-cell transplant in June 2019. But he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in April 2021, and underwent surgery, immunotherapy, radiation, and chemotherapy.
“He was always positive, until the end,” Kelly Conover said in an interview with Runner’s World. “He always thought, ‘I’ll beat this one too.’ He had that fighting spirit, the warrior mentality that made him who he was and made him successful. He persevered and never felt sorry for himself or ‘why me’ or anything like that. He was just kind of like, ‘Okay, here’s the next battle, let’s go.’”
Born in Contra Costa County, California on May 28, 1960, Conover was a graduate of Miramonte High School in Orinda, California. At Humboldt State University, he earned a bachelors degree in natural resource planning, and a masters in city and regional planning at Cal Poly. A nine-time All-American, he won the Division II national 10,000-meter title in 1981 and the national cross-country championship the same year. He became nationally ranked by compiling “a lot of 140-mile weeks,” he once said. That led to Achilles tendon injury and surgery in 1985, after which he came back more modestly.
“Olympic Trials Champion Faces Cancer Again2 max intervals only once every 10 days...and weekends I’d alternate 20-milers and 17-milers,” he told Runner’s World in 2007.
Before the 1988 trials in Jersey City, a strong 10K in a relay in New York’s Central Park showed him that he had reached elite level, and he knew that his 2:18:03 marathon PR had been done in stormy headwind conditions. His opponents in the trials race, however, had scarcely heard of him.
“After the race was the first time that we met,” third-place finisher Pete Pfitzinger recalled. “He was the unknown in the front pack. Ed Eyestone knew him, because both were with Reebok. It was a fairly tough course on a windy day. There were about eight of us together to 16 miles, where Mark, Ed, Steve Spence, and three others took off. I gradually moved through to third, but I was never in contention. Mark kept the pressure on and dropped Ed. It was a masterly performance.”
Conover remembered it “as just one of those days. I felt like I was out on one of my relaxed Sunday long runs. Ed and I broke from the pack...and we helped each other the rest of the way.” Conover won in 2:12:26, close to a 6-minute PR, and probably the most unexpected of all marathon trials results.
Pfitzinger also remembers Conover as an Olympic teammate at the Seoul Games (where he had a bad day in the humidity and didn’t finish) and in the lead-up training in Japan.
“The U.S. team trained together in Chiba for three weeks,” Pfitzinger said. “Mark was focused, but also quite relaxed. I enjoyed our runs together through the Japanese countryside and he was really fun to hang out with.”
Conover’s amiable personality and ability to inspire served him well in his outstandingly successful coaching career. He was assistant at San Luis Obispo County from 1989–92, and editor of The Runner’s Schedule from 1992–95. He then moved to Cal Poly, and achieved the distinction of coaching the men’s cross-country team to an unprecedented seven consecutive wins in the Big West Conference Championships. He was promoted to director of track and field and cross-country in 2009. He was named Big West Coach of the Year a combined 21 times (men and women), and was three times West Region Coach of the Year with the U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association, among many distinctions and awards.
Conover lived in San Luis Obispo, with Kelly and their triplets (now 14), daughters Audrey and Marley, and a son, Cordell.
In recent weeks, even as his health deteriorated, Conover was able to attend track meets in Santa Barbara, California, and San Luis Obispo.
“I don’t think anybody else would have made it on this journey as long as he did,” Kelly Conover said. “He was such an incredible fighter and always said, ‘I have so much to fight for.’ It kept him going. He loved the kids and me, and he loved being the director of track and field and cross country at Cal Poly. He loved being a Mustang. That was everything to him.”
Published: Apr 07, 2022 4:12 PM EDT.
Roger Robinson is a highly-regarded writer and historian and author of seven books on running. His recent Running Throughout Time: the Greatest Running Stories Ever Told After the race was the first time that we met, third-place finisher Running Times Health - Injuries Runner’s World contributor, admired for his insightful obituaries. A lifetime elite runner, he represented England and New Zealand at the world level, set age-group marathon records in Boston and New York, and now runs top 80-plus times on two knee replacements. He is Emeritus Professor of English at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and is married to women’s running pioneer Kathrine Switzer.
