Cameron Bean’s Bio

Cameron, a Chattanooga, TN native, was a multi­sport athlete in his youth, and became a standout runner at The Baylor School under the late Van Townsend. Cameron’s uncommon and ferocious work ethic molded him into an accomplished collegiate runner at Samford University. Such accomplishments include:

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● Conference Freshman of the Year in cross country & track

● Samford’s 5000m and 3000m indoor record holder

● Samford’s 5000m outdoor record holder

● 2010 SOCON indoor “Most Outstanding Track Performer”

After college, Cameron showed interest in joining an elite running outfit in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, called Zap Fitness. Zap's head coach, Pete Rea, made Cameron an offer: move to Blowing Rock, get your own place to live, get a part time job, and I will coach you. By the end of his third year with Zap, Cameron was a fully funded resident athlete and one of the fastest steeplechase runners in the United States. In July 2015, an undiagnosed hip injury led Cameron away from Zap and toward coaching athletes, training to become an elite triathlete, taking classes to increase his knowledge of the human body, and working at Chattanooga’s specialty running store, Fast Break Athletics.

On September 19, 2015, Cameron set out from Fast Break on a training run. He was traveling southbound on Moccasin Bend Road – safely, running against traffic during daylight hours – when a southbound vehicle came across traffic and struck him from behind at a high rate of speed. He was left at the scene of the accident. Cameron passed away from the resulting traumatic injuries on September 21, 2015, at the age of 28.

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Off the track, Cameron was engaging, loving, and larger than life. A young man defined by his faith and invested in his family, friends, and those who shared his passion for running. Cameron was poised and eager to affect the Chattanooga area endurance community in a big way and we strive to continue his legacy.

The Cam Run

Cameron won his last 2 races, the Fast Break 5K and Moon Pie Mini Mile, on August 22, 2015, so fittingly, this year’s race has taken on a new name, The Cam Run­­: Cameron Bean Memorial 5K & Magnum Mile, and a new life. The 5k will be a morning run along scenic Moccasin Bend Road, where Cameron was struck. Runners will pass a Memorial for Cameron twice during the loop. The morning 5k will qualify runners based on performance for The Magnum Mile, a festive 1 mile sprint under the lights in downtown Chattanooga.

The Cameron Bean Memorial Fund is a Chattanooga, Tennessee based Non­Profit Organization committed to promoting and fostering the growth of amateur running in and around the Chattanooga area through running programs, races, camps, clinics and safety advocacy groups. 
The Memorial Fund has made possible a Cameron Bean Memorial Track and Field Scholarship at Samford University, Cameron's alma mater, with a request that it be awarded to a Chattanooga area athlete. A donation was given to the Chattanooga Thunder Track Club to help with travel expenses for several youth runners to compete in the 2017 USATF National Junior Olympic Championship in Lawrence, Kansas. A donation has also been made to Friends of Moccasin Bend in support of future running and hiking trails.