Patrick Lanin

Hopkins and Brainerd

Year Inducted 1982

Patrick Lanin was born in St. Paul in 1938. At age 6 his family moved to Virginia Minnesota.  He grew up on the Iron Range and graduated from Virginia HS ('57), Virginia Jr. College ('59), University of Minnesota ('66), and UND graduate school. During his years at the University of Minnesota,  he competed in track and cross-country, both intramural and on the varsity team. In 1960, Pat founded the Minnesota Distance Running Association, publishing the newsletter and organizing over 20 running races per year for about 10 years.  Pat has competed in over 500 races from 400 meters (52.8) to the Marathon (2:39).

Patrick Lanin’s teaching career began at Hopkins in the fall of 1966, teaching 9th grade science.  He coached track and cross-country running there for 30 years and cross-country skiing for 27 years at Hopkins and 3 years at Brainerd.  His ski-coaching career began when Hopkins added a second high school and needed a second cross country ski coach.  He had not skied before that, but learned from the grand master, Norm Oakvik and Tim Heisel, two-time state nordic ski champion.  Pat applied the same basic training patterns that he had used for cross-country running to nordic skiing.   In the his first few years of coaching, equipment consisted of hickory-soled skis w/3 pin bindings, low cut leather boots, bamboo poles, knickers and wool socks.  Kick wax was applied over the entire ski.  Patrick Lanin radicalized waxing by using hard, cold wax on tips and tails, and appropriate kick wax under the foot.

At Hopkins, Mr. Lanin’s ski teams won 17 sectional championships, 19 conference championships, and 7 state championships.  This included 7 individual state champions and 3 individual runners up. Mr. Lanin was elected a member of the Minnesota Ski Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1982), Minnesota. High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1999), and the Minnesota Running and Track Hall of Fame (2000).  After retiring from teaching, Mr. Lanin won the US Master's Cross-Country Skiing Championships in 1999 and 2000. He still trains 5 or 6 days a week in running, skiing, or cycling,

Currently (2002) Patrick and his wife Emily live on 125 acres complete with ski trails, gardens, maple sugar bush, and monster Mt. bike trails, on the shores of Camp Lake about 24 miles south east of Brainerd.  Patrick Lanin has three children and seven grand children.