Dan Brannen started his running career as a member of the Cross Country and Track teams at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia and then continued at Bucknell University in Central Pennsylvania. By his own admission, in college, he was an “average” cross-country runner and a “slow” track runner. Following his graduation from Bucknell in 1975, he experimented with high mileage training and ran some solid road race times in the late 1970s (1:10:07 for Half-Marathon and 2:31:13 for Marathon). Soon after he succumbed to the siren call of ultras. He ran a few races in the 60-kilometer range, including scoring as second man on the 3-man Haverford Athletic Club team that won the team title in the 1979 Two-Bridges 36 Miler in Washington, DC.
Brannen’s competitive breakthrough came in 1980. In his first foray beyond the 60km distance, he exploded into prominence by winning the JFK 50-Miler, the country’s oldest and largest ultra. The following year he won the Philadelphia-to-Atlantic City 60-mile race and in 1982 the Johnny Salo 200 Miler. Brannen then moved up to multi-day ultras. In 1983 he finished 5th in the LaRochelle 6-Day race in France, running 468 miles to rank as #2 American for the year. In 1984 he ran 223.2 miles to break Ray Krolewicz’s 48-Hour American Record by a mile, only to lose it back to Krolewicz within a year.
1984 was also the year that Brannen started on the path that would put him in this Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in the areas of administration and leadership. In conjunction with a handful of fellow movers and shakers in Europe and Australia, he co-founded the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU). The fledgling group worked to win the support and blessing of the IAAF (the global governing body for Track & Field), eventually leading to the approval of national ultra teams and World and Continental ultra championships.
Within a few years, he had, virtually singlehandedly, worked through the political labyrinth of the U.S. national federation (at the time TAC/USA, later to be renamed USA Track & Field) to achieve status for USA national ultra teams and hold US National Championships. As a result of Brannen’s efforts, the federation created a new subcommittee dedicated to ultramarathons (which would eventually be expanded to become the current Mountain/Ultra/Trail Council of USATF) and expanded the contents of its rulebook to include the full range of ultra national championships and national records.
For this work, he was awarded USATF’s Presidents Award in 1992, the highest honor given to volunteers for administrative accomplishments at the national level. And, to complete an administrative trifecta, in 1990 Brannen founded the American Ultrarunning Association (AUA), which provided initial funding for US national ultra teams and administrative support for US national ultra championships. AUA also created this American Ultra Hall of Fame in 2004.
Brannen would continue to serve as the General Secretary of the IAU and as the Chairman of the USATF Ultra Subcommittee until the end of the 20th century. During that same period, he also served as Race Director of the Philadelphia to Atlantic City 100Km (which hosted the inaugural USA National 100Km Championship in 1987), The Weston 6-Day Race, and the Haverford 48-Hour Race.
During his administrative career, Dan had direct hands-on involvement in twenty-one U.S. National Ultra Championships, twelve 100 kms, and nine 24-hours. In addition, he was the manager/coordinator for U.S. Teams at nine World 100 km Championships.
Dan currently serves as President of his own event production company. His clients include the JPMorgan Corporate Challenge, the Philadelphia Marathon, the New York City Marathon, and about a dozen other running/cycling/triathlon events. He occasionally still participates in ultra running and cycling events, although currently, his primary athletic pursuits are Adventure Racing and Cross-Country Skiing.
Ultrarunning historian, Andy Milroy, wrote, “Without Dan Brannen, it is entirely possible that the IAU’s development would have been delayed, perhaps by decades. His work in USATF Committees ensured that the US Ultra championships and team representation happened.”
Ultrarunning Hall of Famer, Kevin Setnes added: “While a few people saw the importance of governance by a national governing body, no one possessed the foresight, saw the importance of, or had the political acumen to navigate the bureaucracy of TAC (USATF). Under Dan’s leadership, ultrarunning gained acceptance within the long-distance running body. While still fringe by its nature, the rules of competition, course measurement, and records helped legitimize the sport and gain its acceptance. Today’s recognized national championships and the formation of national teams are largely a credit to Brannen’s persistence.”
Read/Listen/Watch an Ultrarunning History Podcast episode featuring Dan Brannen: https://ultrarunninghistory.com/dan-brannen/