Like many track and field athletes, Mark didn’t start off his high school career as a runner. Like many kids who go to Feehan he wanted to be a basketball player. He ran track because his coach ED Gagnon, told him he had to keep busy in the spring. He wasn’t a baseball player so the only other option at the time was track. On the very first day of practice Coach Gobin had a time trial in the mile. All freshmen on the track, ready go: 4 minutes and 59 seconds later Mark Coogan’s track career was born. His love for basketball did not faded and so he kept playing for all four years, never having an indoor season. Although there were some Div. III schools looking at him for basketball, it would be Cross Country and Track that got the attention of Div. I track powers. During his high school career Mark qualified for the Kinney National Cross Country Championship in San Diego. To this day he still holds one of the top times at Van Cortland Park (15:26) in the Bronx NY where he qualified for the National Championships. Eventually he achieved high school bests of 4:20 for the mile and 9:15 for the two mile. Accepting an athletic scholarship Mark moved on to the University of Maryland where he was an IC4A Champion in the Steeplechase and an All American. He is also in the ACC Hall of Fame for Cross Country. After graduating from Maryland in 1987 the spectrum of distances he covered showed just how athletic and versatile Mark Coogan was. One of his most cherished and memorable moments came in 1989 when he became the first Massachusetts runner to break the four-minute mile at 3:58.81 in Dedham. Then in the1992 Olympic Trials he ran 13:34 for 5000 meters and a 28:23 for 10,000 meters. He would eventually improve those times to 13:23 and 28:13 respectively. 1994 again showed his versatility when he thought he would give the marathon a chance. And of course what better marathon for a Massachusetts native to choose then that little one run in Boston every year. A 2:13:24, debut was not too bad. Mark’s career included being a seven time member of the U.S. World Cross Country Team and a four time National Road Champion at the 5K, 10K, 12K and 15K. He won the silver medal in the marathon at the 1995 Pan Am Games and finally went on to achieve his ultimate goal of representing the United States of America in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta in the marathon.
Class: 1984 Inducted: 2005