Mark Robert Conover (May 28, 1960 – April 6, 2022) was an American long distance runner and coach. He was born in

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. He is most famous for his unexpected strategic victory at the 1988 United States Olympic Trials

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair di ...

, qualifying him for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, where he was a member of the U.S. Team. The winning time of 2:12:26 at the Olympic trials was his personal best. Conover showed his potential running for

Miramonte High School Miramonte High School is a public high school located in Orinda, California, United States. It is part of the Acalanes Union High School District. The school has a college-preparatory program, with 15 Advanced Placement courses offered. History ...

Orinda, California Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. History Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados ...

, finishing fifth at the

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

in the 2 mile behind Jeff Nelson just a year before Nelson would set the record in the event which would hold for almost 30 years. He then went on to

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universi ...

, where he became the 1981 NCAA Division II Cross Country Champion. In 1993, he was inducted into the Humboldt State Hall of Fame. 1984 was his first

Olympic Trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

, finishing ninth in a qualifying heat of the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

. At the Seoul Games, an injury kept him from finishing in his Olympics debut. Four years later, Conover returned to the marathon to finish 10th at the 1992 trials. His time as a professional runner was cut short in 1993 by a two-year battle with

Hodgkin’s disease Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

, although he returned to running in years to follow. Professional internships that developed into planning jobs in

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Missio ...

had him training in the area. He began as an assistant coach at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. In 2009 he was named director of track & field and cross country for the university. Conover then led his teams to

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

women's cross country titles in 2012 and 2013, a women's track & field crown in the spring of 2021, and men's cross country titles in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Conover died on April 6, 2022, after battling cancer. He was 61. In February 2023, Cal Poly announced it had renamed its annual Cal Poly Invitational meet held in late March to the Mark Conover Classic in his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conover, Mark 1960 births 2022 deaths American male long-distance runners American male marathon runners Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Cal Poly Mustangs coaches Cal Poly Mustangs track and field coaches Cal Poly Mustangs cross country coaches Track and field athletes from California Cal Poly Mustangs track and field People from Orinda, California Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area