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Rutgers University-Camden head cross country and track coach Joe Puleo has
another job on his busy plate as he heads into his fourth year with the
Scarlet Raptors.
Puleo was named this summer as the head coach of the U.S. Marine Corps
Regional Running Program, which is the national team for that branch of
the armed forces.
“Obviously, I’m honored to be selected,” said Puleo, whose own
Philadelphia Running Company works with the Cadence Cycling & Multisport
Centers in Manayunk. Cadence, which has experience working with the
Marines, suggested Puleo when the coaching job became vacant.
“It’s great,” Puleo said. “To get the phone call was flattering. I have
had a couple of athletes compete at the national level. This is the next
evolution of my coaching, to try to get a group of athletes competing at
the national level.”
A coaching job for the service academy teams is an elite position. One of
the past coaches with Army’s program was former Olympian Alberto Salazar.
The Marine Corps program is open to athletes stationed all over the world,
but the team is capped at 12 athletes, who are served by Puleo. He will
train them in their running programs, preparing them for everything from
local competitions to events as big as the 2008 Olympic Trials.
Since signing a one-year contract in June, Puleo has been to his first
training camp, held conveniently in Philadelphia in early July. His first
trip will be Oct. 29 to the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. He
also has upcoming trips to San Diego in December, a training camp in
Florida in January, and the National Cross Country Championships in
Boulder, Colorado, in February.
“The coaching services are only offered to a dozen athletes,” said Puleo,
whose top female athlete will soon be deployed in Iraq. “Right now the mix
is about 60/40 male/female. The goal is to coach the 12 best runners the
Marine Corps has.”
Since taking over as the Rutgers-Camden cross country coach (2003) and
track coach (2004), Puleo has produced many all-conference performers and
coached the only female All-American in the history of the school’s track
program. Tameka Jackson was a two-time All-American in the 100-meter dash
in 2004 and 2005. Puleo’s track teams have set numerous school records and
the Lady Raptors finished third at the 2005 NJAC Track and Field
Championships, earning Puleo honors as the NJAC Women’s Co-Coach of the
Year.
Puleo is a 1984 graduate of Phoenixville Area (PA) High School, where he
was a member of the scholastic wrestling program. He continued his
education at the College of William and Mary before transferring to
Elizabethtown College. He earned five varsity letters for the Blue Jays,
three in cross
country and two in swimming, and was named the cross country team MVP
during his senior year. He graduated cum laude from Elizabethtown College
in 1989 with a B.A. in English Literature.
Since that time, Puleo has built a strong reputation among running
circles, beginning with his first coaching job at Spring-Ford High School
(Royersford, PA) in 1990. The founder and long-time owner of the
Haddonfield Running Company in Haddonfield, New Jersey, he now owns and
operates his Philadelphia Running Company.
Puleo has coached numerous post-collegiate runners, including Cassy Byrne
of Pottstown, PA, whose debut marathon time of 2:40.28 was the 12th-best
time for U.S. women in 2002. He also has worked with Sean Mick (Pitman,
NJ/Delsea High School), a 4:04 miler, and Abby Dean (Philadelphia, PA),
who finished fifth among all female runners in the Broad Street 10-mile
Run in Philadelphia in May. Dean served as Puleo's
assistant cross country coach in 2003.
Puleo was the boys'
head cross country coach at Paul VI in Haddon Township from 2000-02, where
he led his team to a trio of Olympic National Division championships and
the overall Olympic Conference title in 2001. His team extended the school's amazing consecutive dual meet winning streak, which started
in 1980, to 216 straight victories. The Eagles, who went 17-0 in dual
meets under Puleo, finished fourth, third and fifth in the state meet
during his three seasons.
Puleo’s numerous contributions to the sport of running include serving as
the race director of the 10K Ben Franklin Bridge Challenge and the
Bancroft 5K. He also has served on the USA Track and Field’s Mid-Atlantic
Chapter on the long distance running committee.
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