Tim Rieger II

Year Inducted: 2019

Tim started running at the suggestion of the varsity soccer coach at Centerville High School who told Tim he should run track in order to keep up his ﬁtness for soccer. He soon fell in love with running and never played soccer again. Boosted by his cross country coach, Bob Bowman, and his track coach, Criss Somerlot, Tim excelled at distance running in high school, rising to national levels. He ran cross country for two years. During that time, he accomplished the following: state qualiﬁer, All-WOL ﬁrst team, District ﬁrst team, Regional ﬁrst team, team captain , qualifier for the Foot Locker Midwest Regional Championships, and 1995 team MVP.

His high school track career spanned all four years. He was ﬁrst team-WOL in individual events 12 times and was ﬁrst team-District six times, winning the District mile in 1995. As the 1995 MVP for Centerville HS, Tim found his niche in the steeplechase. In each of his four years, he was a Junior National qualifier in the 2000m steeplechase, running the second fastest time in Ohio history for that event three consecutive years (1993, 1994, 1995). He also was named second-team HS All-American for Centerville’s distance medley relay.

His high school PRs include: 800 meters (2:00), 1600 meters (4:27), 3200m (9:34), 2000 meters steeplechase (6:08), and 5000 meters cross country (16:08). This excellence enabled Tim to earn a scholarship at the University of Cincinnati.

He was a standout runner in both cross country and track during his four years in college. Tim was All -Conference USA ﬁrst team four times and was voted captain, twice in each sport. He was named UC cross country MVP as well as the Bearcats Best Teammate, an award encompassing both athletic and personal acumen. He was recognized by Conference USA as their “Athlete of the Week” on one occasion.
His college PRs include: 3000 meters steeplechase (9:18), 5000 meters(15:00), 10000 meters (33:22), and 8000 meters cross country (24:46).

Tim’s college career was on the ropes during the fall of his junior year when he developed myocarditis, a virus which settled in his heart and robbed him of all energy. He was given a 30% chance of survival and almost no hope of ever running again. Miraculously, Tim returned to running six months later and even scored in the Conference USA steeplechase.

Tim excelled not only at running, but also in the classroom and the community. Tim was honored many times by Conference USA and UC for academic excellence. His 3.69 GPA upon graduation led him to be recognized with the following awards: UC Outstanding Undergraduate Senior, Topcat Scholar Athlete of the Year, and the Spirit of Community Award. He was active in Athletes in Action, voted Vice President of the 2000 senior class, board member for the Dean’s Ambassador program, and served as a mentor for the LADDERS program for incoming nursing students.

Post college, Tim turned his running focus to the long distances (marathons and ultras). He won the 2005 Flying Pig Marathon (2:30:25) and was 9th in the 2005 Columbus Marathon (2:26:23). He placed in the top 25 for the 2008 U.S. National Half Marathon (1:09:00) in Houston, Texas. He was a four-time ORRRC Turkey Trot champion, ﬁnished in the top 25 for the 2013 Leadville Marathon, and placed in the top 10 for the 2013 Collegiate Peaks 50-Miler. Tim also won the 2014 Gemini Trail Race series 100 K in Boulder, Colorado, setting a course record in the process.

His fund-raising eﬀorts for “A Kid Again ” yielded the following accomplishments: ﬁrst in the 2012 Ride Across America 203-mile bike race ﬁnishing in under 12 hours, participant in the 2013 6-Hour Trail Run (40 miles), and participant in the 2016 102-mile run from Columbus to Cincinnati. Tim set an unoﬃcial World Record for 24 hours on the ElliptoGo (325 miles in 2015 and 327 miles in 2017).
His post-collegiate PRs include: 5000 M (14:45), 8000 M (24:37), half marathon (1:09), and marathon (2:26). On the trails: 50 K (3:57:49), 50 miles (8:32), 100 K (8:23:00), and 102 miles (22 hours).