The running community has lost one of its finest ambassadors, as famed University of Minnesota track and cross country coach Roy Griak passed away late Thursday evening. He was 91.

 

Griak was the head track and cross country coach at Minnesota from 1963 to 1996, during which he coached 60 Big Ten champions, 47 All-Americans, and three national champions. Griak served as an administrative assistant after the conclusion of his coaching career, and was a tremendous part of the University of Minnesota community for more than 50 years. 

 

After serving in the Army during World War II, Griak was a letter winner in both cross country and track as an undergraduate at Minnesota, earning his degree in education in 1949, and a master’s degree a year later. He returned to the school in 1963 to replace Jim Kelly as the head coach, the same man who coached him as a student-athlete. Griak would be involved with the program for the rest of his life. 

 

Outside of the Minnesota community, Griak is perhaps best known as being the namesake for the Roy Griak Invitational, annually one of the largest and most competitive meets in the country, with athletes competing in high school and collegiate divisions. What was formally known as the Minnesota Invitational was re-named in Griak’s honor after he stepped down from coaching in 1996.

 

“Today, we have lost a true legend in Roy Griak,” said Minnesota Director of Athletics Norwood Teague on the school’s website. “Roy went to Minnesota, coached here for more than 30 years, worked here for more than 50 years and impacted more lives than almost anybody in the athletic department.” "He was a Gopher until the very end."

 

FloTrack was fortunate enough to get to know Coach Griak starting in 2007 with that year's coverage of the Roy Griak Invitational. In the interview below, he talks about the history of the meet and how he’s seen it grow throughout the years. Griak and former Minnesota women's track and cross country coach Gary Wilson started the meet together back in 1986 (then known as the Minnesota Invitational), and grew it into one of the finest cross country meets in America, with thousands of runners competing each year.