Dana Turner Coons Thiele (born September 27, 1978) is an American long distance runner. She is a two-time qualifier for the US Olympic Trials (10,000m in 2004, marathon in 2008), and in 2007, she was ranked 16th in the country for the marathon with a time of 2:38:18. In the 2008 Olympic Marathon trials in Boston, Coons finished 30th in a time of 2:41:31. Her twin brother, Jason Turner Coons, played club lacrosse at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

Running career

High school

Coons was born in

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, and attended James Madison High School in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...

, where she graduated in 1997. While running during high school she was a two-time district champion in the 1,600 meters as a sophomore and as a junior and a district champion in cross country and on the track in the 3,200 meters as a junior.

Collegiate

Coons went to college at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where she was a fine arts major. During her fourth and final year, she won the ACC title at 10,000m, and was an NCAA qualifier at that distance. Upon graduating from UVA, Coons spent two years in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

as an assistant coach at UVA, and during that time she lowered her 10,000m personal best to 33:07 (Cardinal Invitational, 2003).

Post-collegiate

In September 2003, Coons moved to

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

to train wit
Team USA Minnesota
where she trained under coach Dennis Barker with Carrie Tollefson,

Katie McGregor Katie McGregor (born September 2, 1977) is an American runner who participates in track, cross country and the marathon. High school Born in Cleveland, McGregor attended Willoughby South High School in Willoughby, Ohio. She was the state cha ...

, and other elite athletes. It was during this time that she moved up to the marathon - she debuted in the

Twin Cities Marathon The Twin Cities Marathon is a marathon in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area which normally takes place the first weekend in October. The race is often called "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America" due to a course that winds through down ...

, running 2:46:54 in October, 2005. After spending two years with Team USA Minnesota, she then moved back to Charlottesville. One year later, she lowered her personal best to 2:38:18, at the 2006

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...

. She helped found, and coaches for Ragged Mountain Racing, a post-collegiate training team based in

and modeled after Team USA Minnesota.Ragged Mountain Racing
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coons, Dana 1978 births American female long-distance runners Living people Virginia Cavaliers women's track and field athletes 21st-century American women