Department mourns passing of RIT Hall of Fame coach Peter Todd

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Longtime RIT cross country/track & field coach Pete Todd recently passed away. He was 87 years old.
 
Affectionately nicknamed "The General," Todd guided the men's program from 1964-96, leading the Tigers to a 226-75 dual meet record in cross country and 150-8 in track & field during his 32-year tenure.
 
Todd mentored 49 All-Americans, including two-time national champion Mark Stebbins, who won the 400 hurdles in 1976 and 1978. Thirteen Todd-era program records still remain today.
 
His cross country teams qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships 16 times, logging eight top-10 finishes, including a third-place showing in 1985, a tie for fourth in 1993 and a fourth-place effort in 1995. He teams combined to win 31 Upper New York State Championships (XC-11, T&F-20), while his track & field teams never lost a home dual meet in 108 opportunities.
 
In 1958, Todd founded the Rochester Track Club and served as President until 1976. Later renamed the Greater Rochester Running Club (GRRC), Todd was inducted into the GRRC Hall of Fame in 1982. He was also enshrined in the RIT Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
 
The 1961 Cortland graduate was a standout distance runner for the Red Dragons, garnering three Red Letter Awards given annually to the most outstanding student-athlete from each team in the department.
 
In 1968, Todd organized an eight-man relay that carried a torch non-stop from Washington, D.C. back to Rochester to commemorate the opening of the present RIT campus. When RIT celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1979, Todd and a group of 11 current and alumni runners completed a 2,846-mile, non-stop coast-to-coast relay in just over 14 days that was recognized as a world record by the Guinness Book of World Records.
 
Dave Warth – RIT Cross Country/Track & Field Coach
Pete was a maverick. Pete instilled a dedication to training and team that set the standard we still use today.  To this day many alumni still know each other primarily by their team nicknames.  His legacy in many areas, but especially with RIT Cross-Country, Track and Field will be eternal.
 
Tom Peeples '94 – RIT Hall of Famer
Pete Todd was, without question, the most complicated simple person I have ever known. His rugged, often unpolished exterior stood in stark contrast to his brilliant and deeply strategic mind. You'd never guess, looking at him, that he was a world-class athlete. Nor would you think that behind his gruff manner, he was one of the winningest coaches in RIT history and all of Division III track & field and cross country. And if you ever spotted RF1 or RF2 parked alone at the far edge of the parking lot, you might wonder what he was thinking. But at the heart of it all was one simple, powerful mantra that transcended mere words and became a way of life: RF—Run Fast.
 
Kevin Collins '93 – RIT Hall of Famer
Meeting Pete was one of the most meaningful encounters of my early life. Like Coach Todd, I was different too, but he completely owned it. Confidence, pride enveloped him. He celebrated our history like no other. We knew we were running for something beyond the present. For that he was a role model to me and I ran with all my soul to be a part of that history in his pride and honor. I'll miss making him chuckle.