Herm Atkins
Distance Running

Herm began to discover his running ability at Garfield High in 1965 when he was Washington’s high school cross-country champion. After Garfield he went to Shoreline Community College and won the community college conference cross-country championship one year and placed third the next year. He then transferred to Arkansas State University, stayed for one season, and won the conference cross-country championship. He returned to the Pacific Northwest and became a University of Washington student and distance runner on the track team. During his one season of competition there, he qualified for the NCAA finals in Des Moines, Iowa.

During the late 1970s, Herm began to establish himself as one of America’s and the world’s premier distance runners. He is considered by many as Snohomish County’s best long distance runner. He qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1976 in the 5000 meters and in 1979 became a world-class distance runner by placing ninth in the Boston Marathon running 2:14.17, and placing fifth with a 2:11.52 time in the Nike OTC Marathon in Eugene, Oregon. He then began running under the Nike banner which, took him to races in places like Rotterdam, Bermuda, Japan, and Puerto Rico. Also in 1979, he was the sixth fastest American marathoner and his time of 2:11.52 remains as an incredible achievement 40 years later. His time still holds as the U.S. record in the marathon by a native-born, black American. In 1980 and 1984 he qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon but missed making the U.S. Olympic Team. He continued to run competitively in the 1980s and well into the 1990s. As an example, in 1993 as a Masters runner (40 & older), he led the Snohomish Track Club to the National Masters Cross-Country 10K Championship, and he was a national champion at this level.

Herm has lived in Snohomish County since 1972 and from 1979-1989, he owned and operated Hoofin’ It Athletics which for many became the county’s running center. He has been an Everett police officer for the last 23 years with six of those years as the resource officer at Cascade High. There, in addition to the many runners of all abilities and other people who he assisted throughout the years, he was able to help and mentor many students.