Colorado University Athletics
All-American, National Champion Scrutton Crosses Hall of Fame Finish Line
October 26, 2015 | Cross Country
The fifth of 11 CU Athletic Hall of Fame profiles, leading up to induction ceremonies on Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Coors Events Center. This year's class will also be honored during the Colorado-Stanford football game on Saturday, Nov. 7. Click here to see the CU Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2015. Click here for induction ceremony information and registration.
BOULDER — Running came naturally to Mark Scrutton while he grew up in England. Rather, he came to it naturally, because of what didn't come naturally to him.
“I wasn't very good at ball sports,” he said.
Soccer's loss was Colorado's gain. Scrutton brought his running talents across the pond, and in four years he became one of the most dominant runners the Buffs have ever seen. Scrutton won two NCAA championships, a record 17 Big Eight Conference titles, and he was a nine-time All-American.
Scrutton will be one of 11 Colorado greats to be inducted into the CU Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, Nov. 5. The Buffs previously honored Scrutton's jersey in 1999.
“I'm very, very flattered,” he said. “It was great to be honored in 1999 but to be inducted is fantastic.”
Scrutton first saw Boulder in 1978 when he was taking a Greyhound bus tour from New York to California. His coach in the UK knew the late Dean Brittenham, who coached Colorado at the time. Brittenham arranged for Scrutton to visit CU's campus.
“I was very impressed,” Scrutton said. “I had a great visit with coach Brittenham and some of the team, which made up my mind.”
He won the first of his 10,000-meter, indoor three-mile and outdoor three-mile Big Eight championships as a freshman in 1980, and secured his first All-American honor. He became the first male Buff to win conference championships in both 5,000 and 10,000 meter outdoor — a feat that was unequaled until Joe Bosshard did it again in 2011. That set the stage for his 1982-83 senior season, which was one of the greatest a male athlete at Colorado has ever had.
Scrutton won the NCAA cross country national title that year, finishing in 30 minutes, 12 seconds. He set an 8,000-meter world record in 22:25 at Newport Beach. He won three more Big Eight titles and another NCAA championship in the indoor two-mile. Overall, he won a record 17 Big Eight Conference individual titles, 14 on the track and three in cross country.
To cap it off, in 1983 he became the first male Buff athlete to win the Bolder Boulder, and he did it in his Colorado uniform. His 28:51 time tied for the fastest in the course's history to that point.
“Running into the stadium at the end was a highlight of my career,” Scrutton said.
After that, he was named the Buffs' Male Athlete of the Year. He also said that finishing second in the Bolder Boulder to Frank Shorter in 1981 was nearly as cool. Shorter is the only American to medal in two Olympic marathons — gold in 1972, silver in 1976 — and he co-founded the Bolder Boulder in 1979. Scrutton called him a “legend.”
Colorado didn't win any individual track and field national championships between Scrutton's titles in 1983 and Alan Culpepper's in 1996. Since then, the Buffs have captured 22 national championships in track and field and 11 in cross country.
“I'm massively impressed with (Coach Mark Wetmore's) program and the fantastic success it enjoys,” Scrutton said. “He's an inspirational leader.”
Scrutton follows the team from back in his native England, where he works as an anesthetist. Scrutton still runs, when his schedule permits. He competes in mountain marathons, which he described as two-day races involving minimalist camping and navigation while cold and wet.
Not bad for someone who wasn't good at ball sports.
