Iris Black

Year Inducted: 1986

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best womenʼs masters runners to come out of the Dayton, Ohio area ever.

Iris was ranked in the top three Womenʼs Masters Runners in the country in 1985

and 1986. She was also a top finisher at the Peachtree Classic 10K in Atlanta.

A tireless competitor, she raced and won all over the country. Iris routinely would race two (maybe even three) races on any given weekend. In many of those races if she wasnʼt the top overall woman finisher it was considered an upset.

Iris was always an inspiration to local runners, both male and female.

She coached cross country at Bellbrook High School for more than 30 years with her husband Richard. They retired from coaching in 2010. Going out in style, both their boys and girls teams were in the Division II top 10 in the state, with the girls team making it to the state meet.

No other area female dominated the 1980's more than Iris. She was a nationally ranked masters runner for years. In 1984, she won the National Half Marathon Masters Championship (1:21:17). In 1985 she recorded a 17:50 5K at the Goodwill Industries 5K, making her one of the few female masters nationally to break 18 minutes in the 5K. Her victories include the Dayton River Corridor Classic, Minster Oktoberfest 10K, Germantown 17K, and the Dayton 15K River Run. Iris holds the masters' record at the Cincinnati Mini Heart 15K and Lou Cox 5K (19:01), plus she still holds the course record at the Piqua Heritage 5K. She continued running strong well into the mid 1990's.