Coach’s Spotlight… Cross Country Coach Jeff Marcus

Not only is Jeff Marcus a successful businessman, he is a successful cross country coach.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Coach Marcus has had an extensive run with cross country.
Attending Gateway High School in Pennsylvania, the Brush resident was a three-sport athlete in track, wrestling and his favorite sport of cross country.
After his successful years in high school, he was rewarded with a scholarship to Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for cross country. He then transferred to Colorado State University (CSU) where he continued to run cross country.
After college, his love for the sport never faded away, and he began coaching at Brush High School.
While coaching, he also opened a local restaurant, Digger’s Diner.
When asked about what his most memorable years were he said 2005 and 2012. In 2005, Coach Marcus’s girls cross country team took second in state.
A highlight of his coaching career occurred last year with his first state champion Anthony Thomas, who was the first Brush runner to earn the state honor in 55 years.
“If that isn’t enough for that year, Brush had Top 12 honors as well,” Coach Marcus exclaimed.
A Beetdigger coach for 13 years, Marcus’ favorite place to take his runners is the Liberty Bell Race in Highlands Ranch.
The hardest challenge in coaching the sport, he explained, is keeping every runner happy, as well as not focusing on just one runner.
On the flip side, his favorite part of coaching is seeing the vast improvement in each runner, and teaching them lifelong lessons from the sport.
Coach said, “Hard work and dedication relate to everything in life, not just sports.”
In the 2012-2013 season, he earned the CHASSA Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year.