However, Edelen's celebrity was short-lived, and he was largely forgotten by the American running community. Olympic Trials and became the first American in nearly four decades to attain the world record in the marathon. He spent five years in England after graduation, where he began competing in marathons and working with Wilt to develop a new training pattern that included a weekend long run, medium-long midweek run, speed work, and easy running.īetween 19, Edelen ran 13 marathons against top international competition, winning seven and never placing worse than ninth. Edelen went on to become the first great American marathoner of the modern era after his time at Minnesota, with his training methods revolutionizing the sport. Hal Higdon, a renowned runner and training guru, noted that Edelen's obsessiveness was evident during his time at the University of Minnesota.Įdelen's career at Minnesota was marked by his hands-off relationship with Coach Jim Kelly, who allowed Edelen to design his own workouts. He checked his pulse each morning to ensure it was pumping at 38 beats per minute. He carried squeeze bottles during long workouts to practice drinking, and before competitions, he would remove excess paper from his race number to minimize wind resistance.
In just a few years, Edelen became a world-class marathon runner and broke the world record for the event in 1963 with a time of 2:14:28.Įdelen's training methods were unconventional, and he was known for his obsessive attention to detail. Wilt had advanced new ideas for distance runner training, and Edelen became his protégé. Former Indiana University track star and Olympic athlete, Fred Wilt, saw potential in Edelen and began coaching him remotely. After graduation, he faced a crossroads as he looked to pursue a career while also continuing to pursue his passion for running. Buddy Edelen was a successful distance runner at the University of Minnesota, where he won the Big Ten cross country championship and set a conference record in the two-mile race.
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