Herbert Steffny

Herbert Steffny (born 5 September 1953 in Trier) is a former German long-distance runner who became a prominent running trainer and author. After modest youth results he stopped competing while he studied biology, then returned to racing in the over-30 category. His first big win came at the Echternach Marathon in 1983, and in 1984 he placed third in the New York City Marathon. He was German marathon champion in 1985, German 10,000 metres champion in 1987 and German cross country champion in 1989, and he won the Eurocross in Luxembourg in 1988. In 1986 he finished third at the European Championships in Stuttgart in 2:11:30, the first West German marathon runner to take a medal at a major international event. He ran for Post-Jahn Freiburg. After his career he wrote the bestselling German running book Das grosse Laufbuch, ran running seminars in the Black Forest and worked as a television commentator on city marathons.