Inductees

He had put himself on the so-called running map in Sedalia at Smith-Cotton High School and, because other talented competitors challenged themselves by going to NCAA Division I at the University of Missouri, he decided to head to Columbia, too.

Steve Stonecipher-Fisher, however, realized quickly that he better up his game, so to speak. There he was, just months out of high school and competing against much older runners, some who were 26 and training for the Olympics.

“I experienced performance shock, to say the least!” he said. “I was determined to do even better, so when my college roommates were sleeping in, I often would be heading out for a morning run. Because of the constant determination, they nicknamed me Vince, as in Vince Lombardi, because of my single-minded determination to improve.”

Stonecipher-Fisher became one of the most talented distance runners from the state, even going on to the Boston Marathon twice. And it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted him with the Class of 2024.

A 1975 Smith-Cotton graduate, he won the two-mile run at the 1975 MSHSAA Track & Field Championships in a then-record 9:16.4. Earlier that school year, he was third at the state cross country meet and in the two-mile run at the state indoor track meet. During his junior year, he was second in the outdoor two-mile run. Over his career, he earned 11 varsity letters and seven state track finals medals.

At Mizzou, he set the school record in the 10,000-meter run, a time that stood up for more than 23 years. He still holds the three-mile indoor record there and was a member of the school’s 1979 Big Eight Conference indoor championship team.

From there, Stonecipher-Fisher took up marathons, running in 31 events and posting five times of 2:18.01 or better. He was 37^th overall and the fifth-best U.S. naturalized finisher in the 1983 Boston Marathon. He participated in the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials and won the St. Louis marathon twice. Fisher later qualified for the Boston Marathon after a 36-year hiatus. Now owner of Tryathletics, he has been a race director for 30 years and president of the Columbia Track Club and West Side Kiwanis.

Success came early for Stonecipher-Fisher. Impressive time trails vaulted him to varsity as a high school freshman. Coaches Larry York, Leonard Butler and Norris Kruze played big roles in his development – and helped him purchase running shoes, given he didn’t come from much money.

Several Division I schools wanted him, but the financial aid package from Mizzou won out. Coach Ralph “Robin” Lingle, Coach Bob Teel and Coach Fred Binggeli were influential. Lingle, the cross country and track distance coach, taught him about speed workouts. Binggeli’s strength was in teaching distance running.

“(Teel) taught me more about life,” Stonecipher-Fisher said, with Teel, now 101, sending him a hand-written congratulatory note recently. “He had a tremendously strong moral compass and valued family and each of us as athletes. He taught me a lot about the family man I wanted to be in the future.”

Without question, his wife, Kim, played an incredibly important role after his Mizzou days turned into marathon days. She not only took him water on long-run days and picked him up after 80- to 100-mile runs, but she eventually used her financial skills to support Tryathletics as it became go-to for runners, cyclists and swimmers in the Columbia area.

What enhanced his running credentials in mid-Missouri were the marathons.

“When I started running marathons, I had already been a high mileage runner, regularly running 80 miles per week,” Stonecipher-Fisher said. “Since I was already putting in the miles, I just needed to add long runs.”

He entered the Boston Marathon because his times already met the qualifying standards.

“Unfortunately, many bucket list runners never want to run one again,” Stonecipher-Fisher said. “I’m not wired that way. I see the marathon as a ‘be the best you can be’ endeavor. It is a lifestyle.”

Steve thanks many: high school teammates C.E. Baldwin, Jeff Mittelhauser and Mark Montgomery, as well as the Columbia Track Club, in-laws Dick and Diane Stonecipher, Tryathletics start-up investors Rick Rother and Tom LaFontaine and son Ryan.

“I have met a few runners over the years who have told me they took inspiration from me,” Stonecipher-Fisher said. “I’m not really aware of big numbers of people, but I do think I’ll continue to live as if the camera were on me. It makes it easier to make good, responsible decisions that way!”