The following Profile was submitted by Michael McMillion -

I've been in the process of compiling information on some of West Virginia's past great distance runners, because a lot of information has been lost during the pre-internet era. Below is a profile I did on Chris Fox of Martinsburg High School, WV. Thanks Chris for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions for me! We appreciate all that you contributed to West Virginia distance running!

Chris Fox Profile

Chris Fox was born on October 22nd, 1958 in Washington DC, but he grew up in Martinsburg which is a city in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia. As a youngster he participated in basketball, but soon realized he stunk at it, so he began his running career in the seventh grade at South Martinsburg Junior High School, under the direction of David Ambrose, who was a former runner at WVU. Fox was coached by Ambrose from the seventh grade on.

Chris ran at Martinsburg High School from 1974 to 1977. He averaged 75 to 100 miles per week. His personal records (PR’s) in high school were: 2 Mile - 8:57; 5,000m - 14:21 (on track); 10,000m - 30:30 (on track). He was a member of the World Champion USA XC team and finished 17th in the world meet. Fox was also a member of USA national track team. He ran against the Soviets.

After competing at Martinsburg High School, Chris moved on to Auburn University, where he averaged 70 to 100 miles per week. Fox was a six-time All-American at Auburn. In college his times were: Mile - 4:00; 3,000m - 7:57 (Indoor); 5,000m - 13:34. He was on several USA teams and Pan Am Games.

After graduating from Auburn in 1983 with a degree in psychology, Fox served as the head cross country and distance coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for three seasons (1985-1987) and at George Washington University from 1994-95.

From 1987 to 1994, Fox pursued a professional running career as a member of the Nike-Athletics West Team. He ran in five Olympic Trials from 1980-1996. He also competed at the national and world level with Brooks Sports from 1995 to 1998.

In 2005, Chris Fox assumed the track & field and cross country head coaching positions at Syracuse University, which competes within the Atlantic Coast Conference. Since Coach Fox’s arrival both the men’s and women’s teams has had great success.

Fox is married to Kristy, and have two children.

Personal Best: Mile - 3:59; 1,500m - 3:41; 2,000m - 5:04; 3,000m - 7:47; 2 mile- 8:28; 5,000m - 13:21; 10,000m - 27:53; 10 miles – 46:51; Marathon - 2:13.40.

Note: All times are on track 10,000m and below. Fox also won several national road race championships at 8k and 12k.