Don Janicki

{{short description|American long-distance runner}}

Don Janicki (born April 23, 1960) is an American long-distance runner.{{cite web|url=https://more.arrs.run/runner/436|title=Don Janicki|website=Association of Road Racing Staticians|access-date=7 October 2019}}

As a student at Mesa High School (Mesa, Arizona) in 1978, Janicki set the state high school record for the mile with a time of 4:09.95.{{cite news |title=Casa Grande wins title|page=D-3|newspaper=The Arizona Republic|date=1978-05-22|url=https://img.newspapers.com/img/img?clippingId=67786773&width=700&height=690&ts=1610834173|access-date=2021-01-16|quote=Mesa's Dan [sic] Janicki set a state record in winning the mile run in 4:09.95}} The record would remain 35 years until Andy Trouard of Salpointe ran a 4:09.71.{{cite web |title=Track and Field Boys and Girls All Time Top 5 Records |url=http://aiaonline.org/files/15709/aia-track-field-boys-girls-all-time-top-five-records.pdf |website=aiaonline.org |publisher=Arizona Interscholastic Association |access-date=10 October 2019 |location=Phoenix, Arizona |page=2 |date=12 June 2019}} He later competed for the Arizona Wildcats and earn All-American honors in 1980 and 1981 in cross country. During his 1982 track season, Janicki ran the 5,000 meters in 13:44.20 and the 10,000 meters in 28:27.87, putting him in the top 10 fastest University of Arizona runners in each event.{{cite web |title=Arizona Track and Field and Cross Country Media Guide |url=https://static.arizonawildcats.com/old_site/pdf/c-xctrack/2011-12/misc_non_event/2010m_wxc_tfmg.pdf |website=arizonawildcats.com |publisher=University of Arizona Athletics |access-date=10 October 2019 |location=Tucson, Arizona |page=54 |date=1 August 2009}}

In 1987, won the Holiday Bowl Marathon in San Diego, California. He drove away from the race with $4,000 in prize money and a new convertible.{{cite news |last1=Beatty |first1=Steve |title=Pushed by memory of father, Janicki runs to record win |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-13-sp-28695-story.html |access-date=11 October 2019 |work=LA Times |date=13 December 1987 |location=Los Angeles, California}} The 1989 year took him to Minneapolis and St. Paul for the Twin Cities Marathon, which he won in a time of 2:12:18, earning him $25,000.{{cite news|title=Bolder Boulder's Don Janicki Lives 'Tall and Proud'|last1=Sandrock|first1=Mike|date=15 May 2016|url=https://www.dailycamera.com/2016/05/15/mike-sandrock-bolder-boulders-don-janicki-lives-tall-and-proud/|location=Boulder, Colorado|access-date=7 October 2019|publisher=The Daily Camera}}

Janicki ran his fastest marathon time in 1985 in the Chicago Marathon, which fielded strong competition with world-class finishing times.{{cite book

|last=Suozzo

|first=Andrew

|year=2006

|title=The Chicago Marathon

|url=https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/68tgt5gt9780252031687.html

|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20121215062946/http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/68tgt5gt9780252031687.html

|archivedate=15 December 2012

|location=Urbana, Illinois

|publisher=University of Illinois Press

|pages=22–24

|isbn=978-0-252-07421-9

|access-date=22 February 2021

|url-status=live

}}

Janicki's PR of 2:11:16 put him in seventh, four minutes behind British runner Steve Jones, who was hoping to set a second consecutive world record that morning. While Jones did take the win in 2:07:13, a minute faster than his previous world record the year before, it wasn't fast enough to beat Carlos Lopes's 2:07:12 set in April 1985.{{cite web |title=Chicago Year by Year |url=http://assets.chicagomarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/4_Chicago-Year-by-Year.pdf |website=chicagomarathon.com |publisher=Chicago Marathon |access-date=10 October 2019 |page=178 |date=2011 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20190713183644/http://assets.chicagomarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/4_Chicago-Year-by-Year.pdf |archivedate=13 July 2019 |url-status=live }} Janicki's time was the fourth-fastest marathon time by an American in 1985.{{cite news

|author-first=Jay

|author-last=Weiner

|title=Here's a look at top men runners in Sunday's field

|publisher=Star Tribune

|date=10 October 1986

|location=Minneapolis, Minnesota

|department=Sports

|page=8D

|language=en

}}

He won the Cleveland Marathon in 1993 and 1994 with times of 2:11:39 and 2:15:04 respectively.{{cite web |title=Cleveland Marathon Course Records |url=https://www.clevelandmarathon.com/about-us/course-records.aspx |website=clevelandmarathon.com |publisher=Cleveland Marathon |access-date=10 October 2019 |location=Cleveland, Ohio |date=1 June 2019}}

He was back in the top finishers at the 1994 Chicago Marathon with a fifth-place finish in 2:13:21.

In 2016, Janicki was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame.