Doug Herron has joined the Denison University men's cross country coaching staff in 2026, bringing
more than 25 years of experience coaching track and cross country athletes at the high school,
collegiate and club levels.
Herron has built his coaching career around individualized athlete development, technical
awareness and sound training principles. As the founder and coach of the Alaska Running
Academy, he has worked extensively with middle-distance and distance athletes, developing
individualized training programs that incorporate detailed technical analysis, mobility work,
drills and progressive training designed to meet the specific needs of each athlete. He has also
played an active role in helping his athletes navigate the collegiate recruiting process.
Throughout his coaching career, Herron has coached numerous athletes who have gone on to
compete successfully at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels. His coaching experience
includes stops at the University of Alaska Anchorage, South Anchorage High School and West
Valley High School, where his teams and athletes achieved state championships, national
rankings, school records and NCAA success. He has coached athletes to Division II All-
American honors and has developed multiple 800-meter athletes to times of 1:51.84 or faster.
Several of his athletes have or are currently competing for notable Division I programs.
Herron was an accomplished middle-distance runner at the University of Arizona, where he was
an NCAA All-American, 1987 Pac-10 800-meter champion and school-record holder. He was a
member of the nationally ranked University of Arizona cross country team. He represented the
United States on World Junior and Senior National Teams and was a semifinalist at the 1988
U.S. Olympic Trials. He was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
Herron holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Arizona and a Master of
Education in Special Education from the University of Alaska Southeast. His educational
background complements his coaching philosophy, which emphasizes understanding the
individual athlete, providing positive reinforcement, and adapting training to meet each athlete's
needs.
