Greg Meyer


Greg Meyer is an American long-distance runner. Meyer's winning time for the 1983 Boston Marathon race was 2:09.00. He was the last American to win the Boston Marathon until 2014, and the last person born in America to win the Chicago Marathon until 2017. He set ten American road racing records and two world records, and won the River Bank Run, in his home town of Grand Rapids, seven times.

Personal life

Meyer was born in Grand Rapids, MI to parents Rita and Jay. He has one older sibling, Matthew Meyer. He met and married fellow runner Paula Lettis in 1980 while living in Boston and together they had three children, Nicolle, Jacob and Daniel . He divorced in 2005 while living in Dexter, MI.
Meyer is a 1973 graduate of Grand Rapids West Catholic High School. In 1977 he earned a degree in education and social studies from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. In 1986 he earned a Master of Education degree from Boston University.
Meyer resides near Rockford, MI, and since 2008 has served as Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Aquinas College. Previously, Greg was employed from approximately 2000 through March 2007 by the University of Michigan as director of Major Gifts for the Greater Michigan Region, where he helped raise over $125 million for the university.

Running accomplishments

Meyer set American road racing records in the 8K, the 10K, and the 15K. He set world records in the 10-mile run and the 25K. He was the first University of Michigan runner to break the four-minute mile mark. He was inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Fame in 2011. In 1978, Meyer won the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union's cross country running title, in 29:35.9, narrowly edging out Alberto Salazar. The U.S. boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics, and Meyer finished 7th in the 1984 Trials.