In Memory
Michael Long
(March 14, 1942 – July 18, 2007)
By Toni Reavis
SAN DIEGO, Calif., (July 19, 2007) - Family, friends, and those touched by the life of one of the running industry’s most beloved personalities are mourning the loss of Michael Long, athlete recruiter and coordinator for Elite Racing, Inc. Long passed away unexpectedly at his home in San Diego, Calif. early Wednesday morning. He was 65 years old.
“Our family at Elite Racing and the running family worldwide have lost a true friend,” said Tim Murphy, founder and CEO of Elite Racing. “In the many years I worked with Mike, I saw him differentiate Elite’s musical marathons through his kindness, generosity and love for the athletes.”
Long was found at his home Wednesday morning by Tom Bedford, son of London Marathon director Dave Bedford. Tom was living with Long while serving an internship at Elite Racing. The cause of death is still unknown, though family and friends believe Mike suffered a heart attack.
Tom Bedford was only the last of literally hundreds of runners the world over who were hosted by Long at his Mission Beach home. It was this quality of openness and hospitality to running and its people that endeared Long to so many.
“This is not one man dying,” lamented 2000 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon champion Belay Wolasha of Ethiopia upon hearing of Mike’s passing. “This is a thousand men dying.”
A native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Long moved to San Diego in the 1970s, making his home in south Mission Beach. A standout wrestler while at Michigan State University, Long became an avid runner during the initial running boom of the 1970s. He completed several marathons including the 1983 Boston Marathon, when he ran his personal best time of 2:54:00.
Long began working at Elite Racing in 1990 after retiring as a stockbroker, and soon took on the duties of elite athlete coordinator. With his Irish twinkle and easy charm Long’s passion for life and the sport was marked by the embracing quality of his work, which took him around the globe to recruit athletes for Elite Racing’s growing stable of events. Not just in the business of running, Long’s sincere human touch earned him friends everywhere, and many of the world’s finest distance runners counted him as a close friend.
After meeting Irish mile legend Eamonn Coghlan along Mission Bay in 1979, Long began a close relationship with the top Irish runners. In 1984 he housed Irish Olympian Jerry Kiernan for two months prior to the Los Angeles Olympics, beginning a tradition of opening his home to runners over the years. The legacy Long leaves behind is a testament to the joy he brought to those he touched.
“Mike wasn't only a true ambassador for Elite Racing, but a great mentor and a sincere friend to many people across the continents,” wrote Kenya’s Godfrey Kiprotich, who met Mike in 1996. “When I shared the tragic news to my family, my son asked me if he is the same Mzungu (white man) who was ready to teach him how to swim in one of the hotel pools within Eldoret. We will miss his annual visit to Kenya, his smiley face, hugging his friends in every corner of the globe.”
“There won’t be any comfort for those who were close to him, but nobody could feel better about how he lived his life than Mike,” said Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of the New York Road Runners. “There could never be a better person who did more for others.”
In 2006, Long began working with a group of colleagues to establish the Entoto Foundation. In what will become part of Long’s lasting legacy, this non-profit organization will continue to help deliver medical assistance to Ethiopians who do not have access to appropriate treatment or surgery. Donations to the Entoto Foundation may be sent to Elite Racing, Inc., 5452 Oberlin Drive, San Diego, CA, 92121.
“To hundreds of Kenyans and Ethiopians Mike Long was the face of America,” said running agent Brendan Reilly. “And we couldn’t have asked for a better ambassador.”
Mike is survived by a son, Scott, of Carlsbad, California, two grandchildren, and a daughter, Erin, in Seattle as well as his brothers Alan, Bruce, and Bill.
More than a sport, running has always represented community, a sense that everyone who laced up their shoes and made the attempt was connected through the effort. No matter what differences may divide us, be they age, race, religion, or nationality, running transcended all those differences, linking all who suffered and celebrated into a shared communion. Mike Long represented that cohesion in its most endearing form. He was the best we had. We will miss him beyond measure.
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