UTICA, NY - Outstanding athletes and running elite joined the National Distance Running Hall of Fame Saturday as it inducted its fourth class of distinguished runners. The 2001 class is Bill Dellinger, Lynn Jennings, Fred Lebow, and Craig Virgin.

Focusing on the past and future of distance running, the induction ceremony was attended by both Dellinger and Virgin. "It is an honor I will treasure for the rest of my life," Virgin said in an eloquent and heartfelt acceptance speech. He thanked his parents and family for their constant assistance. "I would've never gotten here without their support," he said. Virgin is a two-time World Cross-Country champion and the first and last American male winner. He is also the NCAA Cross-Country Champion and won nine Big 10 Championships.

Alberto Salazar, a 2000 Hall class inductee who was formerly coached by Dellinger, introduced Dellinger and presented him with his Hall of Fame plaque. Dellinger honored his wife for her unending support before and after his recent stroke in a statement read by Salazar. In a moving thank you, Dellinger told an absorbed audience that he hoped to see them all again next year at the 2002 ceremony. Dellinger, who was coached by the late Bill Bowerman, is not only an accomplished runner, but also served as the assistant track distance coach with Bowerman at the University of Oregon, later becoming head coach in 1973. His coaching was an undeniably important influence on running greats and current Hall-of-Famers Steve Prefontaine and Salazar.

Lebow, former president of the New York Road Runners Club, was honored by Hall of Famer Grete Waitz and Allan Steinfeld, CEO of the New York Road Runners Club (NYRRC) and race director of the New York City Marathon. Lebow is recognized as a being responsible for making the NYRRC the largest organization of its kind. He is admired as a man who has helped to raise distance running to its current position as a highly-respected and competitive sport. "What Fred left behind is a difference...a difference that has changed people's lives," Waitz said. Lebow died of brain cancer in 1994.

An impressive and formidable distance running competitor, Lynn Jennings holds a record collection of 39 national titles in track, road and cross-country in distances ranging from 1500 meters to 10,000 meters. She is heralded as a role model for all runners, especially women in the sport.

Jennings is a three-time Olympian and a nine-time National Cross- Country Champion. Overall, Jennings has set 10 American records and is a three-time World Cross-Country Champion. She was honored at the ceremony by Henley Gabeau, Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) official and founder of the RRCA's Women's Distance Festivals.

Famous special guests who joined in the ceremony with Hall of Famers included Khalid Khannouchi, world record holder for the marathon and Alan Webb, national high school record holder for the indoor and outdoor mile. Hall of Famers Ted Corbitt, Nina Kuscsik, Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Frank Shorter, Kathrine Switzer, and Grete Waitz attended the ceremony honoring the new class.

Running coach Jeff Johnson was awarded the Bill Bowerman Coaching Award, established by the Hall of Fame and Nike. The award is given annually to a US distance running coach who believes he is more teacher than coach, constantly nurturing athletes to find the best within their mind and body. Geoff Hollister, one of the pioneers of Nike who was coached by the late Bill Bowerman, presented the award to Johnson. Johnson created the Farm Team - a post-collegiate running club for distance runners - in northern California. "This is a breathtaking honor," Johnson said when accepting the award during the Hall ceremony.

Dick Patrick of USA Today Sports was awarded the George Sheehan Award at the Ceremony. The George Sheehan Award is bestowed on an individual each year who contributes to the sport of distance running through the power of the written word. Patrick has covered running, from grass roots to world class levels for his 26 years as a sports reporter. He has been with USA Today since 1986, covering the Olympics, major road races and marathons, and world class championships in cross-country and track.

The Hall of Fame held the 2001 Induction Ceremony in Utica, NY, the evening before the Boilermaker 15K Road Race, the largest 15K in the nation. John Petrone, co-director of the Hall of Fame, praised this year's class as highly worthy and representative of the achievements many in the distance running community admire. "This class reminds us of the hard work and dedication that it has taken for this sport to be recognized worldwide, and the people who have contributed to that recognition," Petrone said.

The inductees were voted on by the Hall of Fame voting committee, a group of national leaders in the running community as well as members of each induction class. Current Hall-of-Famers include: Ted Corbitt, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Frank Shorter, Kathrine Switzer, John A. Kelley, Nina Kuscsik, Billy Mills, Francie Larrieu Smith, Clarence DeMar, Steve Prefontaine, Alberto Salazar, and Grete Waitz.

The Hall, located in Utica, NY, was established four years ago to commemorate and honor the accomplishments of distance runners, preserve and promote the sport of distance running, and to educate the many visitors on the rich history of distance running in the United States. Individuals can visit the Hall online at www.distancerunning.com .

For more information, contact Vicki Wilson at (315) 853-3941 ext. 30.