Kenny Moore

Kenny Moore has become known as one of the world’s top writers on running and track and field, but he was also world-class as a distance runner. He competed in the 1968 and 1972 Olympic marathon, and also the 1971 Pan American Games marathon. Moore was AAU champion in the 1971 marathon and the 1967 cross-country event. On the track he finished third in the 1969 AAU 10K, and fifth at the 1964 NCAA 5K. He ran for the University of Oregon and the Oregon TC. As a runner he is known for having won the world’s largest footrace, Bay-to-Breakers in San Francisco, six consecutive times.

Moore spent several years working to try to free Ethiopian marathoner Mamo Wolde, the 1968 Olympic champion. Wolde had been arrested by Ethiopian authorities who felt he participated in an assassination attempt against the country’s dictator. Moore and the IOC petitioned for his release, which occurred, but only after he had spent six years in prison.

Moore wrote for Sports Illustrated for 25 years. He wrote the screenplay for the 1998 movie Without Limits, a biopic on Steve Prefontaine. He had a small acting part in the track & field move Personal Best. Moore was one of the athletes who helped push the US Congress to enact the Amateur Sports Act in 1978. He also wrote several books, including Bowerman and the Men of Oregon and Best Efforts: World Class Runners and Races.

Personal Bests: Mile – 4:04.2 (1966); 2 miles – 8:43.2i (1965); 3000S – 8:49.4 (1966); 5000 – 13:46.4 (1970); 10000 – 28:47.6 (1970); Mar – 2-11:36 (1970).