Local runners mourn coach’s passing

The central Indiana running community is mourning the loss of Tom Hathaway '54, the UIndy student-athlete who went on to become a marathoner, a mentor to many running enthusiasts and a championship cross country coach at the high school and college levels.

Hathaway, who died Sunday at age 79, was a four-year letter winner in track and cross country before graduating in 1954 from UIndy, then known as Indiana Central. He later taught and coached for many years in the Perry Township schools, leading seven teams to IHSAA cross country championships. Returning to coach at his alma mater, he led the UIndy Greyhounds to a conference championship in 1992 and was named conference coach of the year. He received the university's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005.

Indianapolis Star writer Barb Berggoetz, who took marathon classes from Hathaway through run/walk organizer Ken Long & Associations, wrote a remembrance on her blog. It can be read here.

In 2010, Hathaway himself wrote about the thrill of completing a marathon for UIndy's Portico magazine. That item can be read here.