Biography of RIT coach and area running pioneer Pete Todd published

Pete Todd, a successful track coach at Rochester Institute of Technology from 1964 to 1996 who organized an historic and record-breaking coast-to-coast relay run, is remembered in a new book, My Way: The Life and Legacy of Pete Todd – Rochester Running Pioneer.

“I wrote this biography to preserve the remarkable 32-year legacy he left on campus,” said Jim Brunswick, who had Todd as his running coach in the 1980s. “Pete’s impact on RIT athletics was profound: he compiled a legendary 150-8 dual meet record in track, guided 49 All-Americans, and led 14 cross country teams to the NCAA Division III finals. He truly shaped an unforgettable era of camaraderie and character for thousands of Tigers.”

Not only did Todd have success as a coach, winning 71 consecutive meets at one point, in 1958 when he was still in high school, he also was a founding member and first president of the Rochester Track Club, the precursor to the Greater Rochester Running Club. He also helped create the Rochester Marathon, and organized Tuesday night track meets that still are held each summer.

“He was truly a pioneer in Rochester running,” Brunswick said. “His footprint is everywhere in the local running community.”

In 1973, Todd brought in past and future Olympians Dave Wottle, Dick Buerkle, and Marty Liquori to race at RIT. Wottle, the defending Olympic champion at 800 meters, outdueled Buerkle at a special invitational mile.

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RIT Archives

Coach Pete Todd during a record-setting 14-hour non-stop relay race with 11 RIT students and alumni, from California to Maryland and back to Rochester to celebrate RIT’s 150th anniversary in 1979.

“No one else could have pulled this off,” Brunswick said. “Pete was a master organizer and promoter.”

In 1979 to commemorate RIT’s 150th anniversary, Todd joined 11 RIT students and alumni for the relay from California to Maryland and ending at RIT, a 2,846-mile run, setting a Guinness World Record for the fastest time running across the United States. The runners took continuous two-mile segments for 14 days, 4 hours and 8 minutes.

Brunswick, a 1990 graduate of RIT’s professional and technical communications program, said this book is not just about Todd’s success as a track coach, “there is plenty there for non-runners and people who have no connection to RIT. This is a book about a man who, while incredibly polarizing, was wholeheartedly devoted to his athletes and left an indelible impact upon lives such as mine.”

Todd died in 2004. He was 87.