Roger Buhrley  High School Cross Country and Track and Field Coach / Runner

Roger Buhrley is the head Boys and Girls Cross Country and Track and Field coach at Syracuse High School where he continues to add to his 32 years of coaching experience.  He also teaches History and Body Conditioning at Syracuse High.  Roger has a Bachelors Degree in History from Weber State University and a Masters Degree in Physical Education from Brigham Young University.  He is a USA Track and Field Certified Level II Coach.  Coach Buhrley’s commitment to the sport of running, his ability to motivate young runners, and his legacy of building solid high school sports programs has earned him the reputation as one of Utah’s best high school coaches.

Career Highlights

Taught and coached:

32 years in Davis School District

Seven years at North Layton Junior High

Two years at Clearfield High

20 years at Davis High

Three years at Syracuse High

Awards:

UHSAA 5A Coach of the Year

NFHS Region 7 Coach of the Year

UHSTCA Coach of the Year

Championships:

Several Region and State Championships (he’s too humble to tell us the exact amount…one of his former athletes should count them up and let us know)

Roger grew up in Huntsville, Utah and attended Weber High School where he competed in Track and Field.  He has run a sub-3:00 marathon (he says, “not bad for an old sprinter”) and he continues to participate in local road races.  Coach Buhrley currently resides in Clearfield, UT.

Brad Anderson           Inspirational Runner

Has raced from the front and the back of the pack

Voted “Most Comical Sense of Humor” by UtahRunning.com

Brad Anderson grew up in Morgan, UT.  While growing up, Brad’s father, Gerald Anderson, took Brad to races and helped instill in him a love of running.  In High school, Brad ran track and cross country and played basketball. He liked basketball, but his real love and future was in track and cross country.  At Morgan High, Brad was a six-time Region Champion and a two-time State Champion.  At the end of his junior year, Brad was named the 2A “Track Athlete of the Year”.  Brad’s future in running looked bright.  At the beginning of Brad’s senior year all of that changed.  He was in a serious car accident that nearly cost him his life.  He was told he would never run again.  Through determination and discipline Brad beat the odds and eventually was able to run again.  When asked about his most memorable running experience Brad said:

One I am proud of and will always remember was my first race after my car wreck. I was never supposed to run again, so running another 5K was pretty cool. It was something I always wanted to do again, but there were times even I didn’t know if I would do it again. I think I have a pretty good perspective on running, since I have been on both ends. I have been the fastest kid, and the kid who could be beat by anyone that was partially awake. I’m just proud that I still run nearly everyday.

Today, Brad races in everything up to the marathon, but the 10K, 15K and half marathon are his favorite distances.  Through hardship Brad gained an even deeper appreciation for running.  He teaches each of us to never take our ability to run for granted.

Along with competing, Brad also coaches.  He started coaching track his senior year and has done it in some capacity (head coach or assistant) ever since. He coached at Morgan High until 2005 and he currently coaches cross country and track at Davis High School (Kaysville, UT).  When he is not running or coaching, Brad works as a sales rep for a medical company.  He currently resides in Ogden, Utah with his wife Amber, also an avid runner, and his three boys.

Utah Running Expert Panel

Janae Richardson     

Runner, USATF Certified Coach, Co-founder of UtahRunning.com 

Janae Richardson is a homemaker, runner, coach, and co-founder of UtahRunning.com.  She graduated from Weber State University with a Bachelors Degree in History Teaching and PE/Coaching.  Janae is a Level 1 Certified USA Track and Field Coach and is pursuing a masters degree in Exercise Science at Utah State University.  She currently coaches cross country at Davis High School (Kaysville, UT) and offers private coaching to runners of all levels.

Career Highlights:

Teaching:

3 years experience teaching U.S. History (2005-2008)

4 years experience teaching Physical Education (2005-2009)

Coaching:

Sand Ridge Junior High Basketball and Track and Field Coach (2005-2008)

Roy High JV Basketball Coach (2006-2009)

Davis High School Cross Country Coach (2007-present)

9^th at Nike Team Nationals Davis High School Girls Cross Country 2007

State Champions Davis High School Girls Cross Country Team 2007, 2008

2^nd Place at State Davis High School Girls Cross Country Team 2009

Other:

2 years experience managing a specialty running shoe store

Janae competed in cross country and track at Weber State University.  Since college, she has completed three marathons (Top of Utah, St. George, and Chicago), several half-marathons, and many local 5Ks and 10Ks.  A healthy lifestyle and running have become a permanent part of Janae’s life and she enjoys sharing her passion for running with others.

Athletic Accomplishments:

Mile:  5:15

2 Mile:  11:14

Steeplechase:  10:49

5K:  17:01

10K:  35:30 (Weber State Top Ten List)

Half Marathon:  1:21:50 Salt Lake Half 2010

Marathon: 2:59:53 St. George Marathon 2006

Janae grew up in Idaho Falls, Idaho where she graduated from Hillcrest High School.  She met her husband, Ken, while competing at WSU.  They currently reside in Ogden, Utah with their daughter and son.

Ed Eyestone, a two-time Olympian, is currently the head men’s distance coach at Brigham Young University. Since his arrival in 2000, Eyestone has formed a BYU team that is regarded as one of the best distance programs in the nation. Under Eyestone, the Cougars have won 8 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships and have finished in the nation’s top 25 every year, including a 5th place finish in 2004. His distance teams have helped win the Mountain West Conference Indoor and Outdoor titles 9 times each. He has been awarded the MWC Coach of the year 6 times. Eyestone, who was a 10-time All-American as an athlete at BYU, has coached BYU athletes to 36 All-American awards.

In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Eyestone was the head distance analyst for NBC at the Beijing Olympics. He has also served as a commentator for ESPN and Fox Sport’s “Elite Racing” since 1994 and has been a monthly columnist for Runner’s World magazine since 1999.

Accomplishments as a Runner:

• Won every collegiate cross country race he entered his senior year at BYU
• 1984-1985 season National Champion in Cross Country, 10,000 meters, and 5,000 meters (only the 3rd athlete to win this rare triple crown of national titles)
• 1985 he set an NCAA record in the 10,000 meters with a time of 27:41.05
• Was a professional distance runner for 15 years
• Member of the U.S. Marathon Olympic team, first in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, and then in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain
• Named U.S. Road Racer of the Year five times
• Career-best marathon time of 2:10.59

Education:
Earned a bachelor’s of science degree in psychology and a master’s in exercise science from BYU.

Eyestone is married to Lynn and they are the parents of six daughters.

Paul Pilkington – Weber State University Head Distance Coach | Elite Athlete

Paul Pilkington is currently the head cross country men’s and women’s coach at Weber State University. He also works with the distance runners as an assistant coach of the men’s and women’s track and field teams.

Coach Pilkington has aided the success of many individual athletes and the Weber State Cross Country and Track and Field teams. While at WSU, Pilkington has coached five NCAA All-Americans and one Olympian. He coached Lindsey Anderson to All-American status in college and then helped her qualify for the 2007 World Championships in Japan, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the 2009 World Championships in Germany. Under Pilkington the WSU men’s team finished second in the Big Sky Cross Country Championships in 2007 and 2008, and fourth in 2009. In the women’s Big Sky Cross Country Championships, Pilkington led the women’s team to a second place finish in 2007, a third place finish in 2008, and a second place finish in 2009.

Prior to his current coaching position, Paul was the head cross country coach at the University of Illinois from 2003-05. While there he coached two athletes to the NCAA Championships and helped one athlete qualify for the World Cross Country Championships U.S. Team.

In addition to being a respected coach, Pilkington is also a successful runner. As a collegiate athlete, Pilkington was a NJCAA All-American in the steeplechase at the College of Southern Idaho and an All-American in the steeplechase while attending Weber State. Pilkington however, is best known for his post-collegiate career as an elite marathoner. In 1994 he won the USA Track and Field Marathon in Los Angeles, CA. He qualified for the Olympic Trials four times and made the US World Championship team in 1995. In 1993 he was the USA Track and Field 20K National Champion and the winner of the Houston Marathon in 1990. He has had top ten finishes in marathons throughout the world, including London, Berlin, Moscow, Venice, San Francisco, and the Twin Cities Marathon.

Paul Pilkington grew up in Blackfoot, Idaho. He earned a Bachelors degree from Weber State and a Master’s Degree from Utah State. He currently resides in Ogden, Utah.