Amy Yoder Begley (néeYoder; born January 11, 1978[2]) is anAmerican running coach and former middle and long-distance runner. Yoder Begley was a national champion at three different distances (3k indoor, 10k road, 15k road) and competed in the 10,000 meter event at the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Yoder Begley attendedEast Noble High School inKendallville, Indiana. She was a four-time state champion (one cross country and three 3200 meter titles)[3] and held the 3200 meter state record from 1996 until 2011 when it was broken byCulver Academy's Waverly Neer.[4]
Yoder Begley graduated from theUniversity of Arkansas in 2001. She was a two-timeNCAA champion and a 15-time All-American.[5] She was 2000SEC Female Athlete of the Year, and in 2016 she was selected to the Southeastern Conference 2016 Class of Women's Legends representing Arkansas.[6] She won theHonda Sports Award as the nation's top female cross country runner in 2000.[7][8]
Yoder Begley placed third in the 10,000 meters at the 2008USA Track & Field Olympic Trials inEugene, Oregon, setting a new personal record of 31:43.60 and qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[12] She placed 26th in the final of the 10,000 meters at the Olympics.[13]
Yoder Begley finished first in the 10,000 meter event at the 2009 USA Track & Field Championship on June 25, 2009, in Eugene, Oregon.[14] This qualified her to compete in the 12thIAAF World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin. She finished in sixth place and set a new personal record with a time of 31:13.78.[15]
In December 2014 she was hired as the first full-time coach in the 50-year history of theAtlanta Track Club. Among her responsibilities are creating training programs for the club's 21,000 members and training two athletes for the2020 Summer Olympics.[17] The club announced they were separating from Yoder Begley and her husband in 2023.[18]
In 2019, Yoder Begley made substantiated allegations againstAlberto Salazar for abuse pertaining to her body and ultimately kicking her off the team for her weight.[19][20] She also alleged that Salazar made her sign a contract saying she wouldn't become friends with any of her teammates at the Nike Oregon Project.[21]
Yoder Begley was hired by USATF in 2023 as the director of long-distance running programs. She founded and mentors the Heartland Athletics Club, coached by Andrew Begley and Bianca Martin with athletesAllie Wilson, Emma Grace Hurley, and Gemma Finch.[18]
She married her husband Andrew Begley in 2000;[26] Begley is also a running coach and partner of Yoder Begley with the Heartland Athletics Club. In 2020, Yoder Begley announced she and her husband had a commitment ceremony with their mutual partner of three years, Stephanie Reynolds Begley.[27]
United States
