Born: May 5th, 1955 in Compton, CA
Pomona High School 1973
California Lutheran College
1977 -BA
1990 -MA
Ventura College of Law
2006 – Juris Doctorate
Steve Blum ran track and cross country for California Lutheran College from 1973 to 1977. He set eight school running records in distances from 1 mile to the Marathon, was a team captain and MVP in both sports. His coach was the legendary Don Green, a 1997 VC Sports Hall of Fame inductee. Steve continued to run competitively for the next 22 years while also coaching track and field and cross country at Buena High School.
Steve ran in hundreds of races locally and from Alaska to Florida and had many fast times as an Open and Master runner Some of his most impressive feats as an Open runner include a 47:09 at the Cascade Runoff 15K in Portland and 2:26 in the Pikes Peak Ascent in 1978, and in 1983 at the Bakersfield Half Marathon ran a time of 1:06:49. As a Masters runner Steve set a national record for a 5K road race with a time of 14:15 in 1995 and won USATF national championships at 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
Steve coached 22 Channel League championship teams at Buena High (15 in cross country and 7 in track and field). The Buena girls Cross country team won 13 league titles in a row from 1983 to 1995 winning 86 consecutive dual meets and placed in CIF 12 times. Steve’s biggest contributions as a coach cannot be judged by wins alone. He was and is a positive force in the lives of thousands of the young people he coached. He used sports to help young people grow and develop as outstanding people, not just athletes.
Steve also contributed to the sports he loved, competed in and coached on an organizational level. He founded the Seaside Cross country Invitational, the Gordon Steward Classic Track Meet, the Buena 4 Mile Run, and served as the meet director of the Ventura County Cross Country Championships in addition to helping other schools create their own meets and was a long time race director of the Lasse Viren 20K to name but a few.
Steve and his wife Debbie raised a daughter, Teresa, and still live in Ventura. He hopes to return to competitive racing since his retirement from teaching in 2013. He remains a part time attorney and serves on the Ventura County Community College Board as a trustee.