Joe Lemay (2018)

Joe LeMay (Class of 1985) made his mark in Ridgewood High School athletics in cross-country and track and field. During his senior year, LeMay ran times of 9:12 in the 3,200- meter run and 4:15 in the 1,600-meter run. He was part of a school record-setting distance medley relay, running 4:18 for his leg, with his team finishing in 10:11 for fourth place at the prestigious Penn Relays. LeMay passed up running in the State Meet of Champions his senior year to participate in a national meet, the Golden West Invitational, where he finished fifth in the 3,000 meters. His best running would come years later. LeMay went on to compete for Princeton University, graduating in 1989 as a Division 1 All-American in both cross country and track and setting the still-standing university record for the 10,000-meter run, 28:59. After college, LeMay became known for training over 100 miles a week while holding down a full-time job, and he continued to compete in road and track races at a national and international level. He represented the United States at the World Half Marathon Championships twice and the World Cross-Country Championships once. At the 1996 Crescent City Classic 10K in New Orleans, LeMay ran a 28:00, making him the sixth fastest American ever for that distance. He finished second in the 1996 United States Olympic Trials for 10,000 meters and won both the 1997 Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville, Fla. with a time of 43:35 and the 1999 California International Marathon with 2:13:55 clocking. On Memorial Day of 1993, LeMay set the Ridgewood Run course record for the 10-kilometer run [6.2 miles] in a time of 29:11, a standard that still endures. LeMay has appeared on the cover of Running Times Magazine twice, and was pictured in a widely distributed Adidas poster in 1997. LeMay retired from running on a national level in 2002, but still competes in local races near his home in Danbury, Conn.