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Born: June 12, 1971 Hometown: Eugene OR Current Residence: Chula Vista, CA College: Carleton '93 PRs
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By the summer of 1993, Dunn's interest in race walking reemerged when he moved to Lake Placid to train with Bob Ryan. Dunn was part of a small group of up and coming race walkers that included the likes of Andrew Herman, Will Van Axen, Melissa Baker, Yariv Pomeranz, and Elliot Taub. Claiming he would never walk a 50K, Dunn was coerced when on the way to Lake Placid he and Hermann were invited to compete in the 50K at the U.S. Olympic Festival. They headed for San Antonio and Dunn finished in a time of 4:52 with Hermann just a few minutes back.
Dunn had enough of the 50K and switched back to training for the 20K. He figured he would give race walking his all for one year, achieving a 4th place finish at the Nationals in Knoxville. With the Olympics coming up in 1996, Dunn extended his commitment and followed his coach to Virginia. While not qualifying for the Olympics, he finished a respectable 6th place at the Trials.
In 1997 he regrouped, moving out to the ARCO Olympic Training Center to train for the 2000 Trials. On a steady trajectory upward on the American and world race walking scene, Dunn broke through in 2000 by making his first Olympic team in the 50 km. When Dunn is asked how he qualified for the Olympic Team, he replies, "Count to 7." This is because in the 4-hour race to quality for the team, he snuck under the standard by only 7 seconds.
Since then he has steadily improved, winning the 2001 U.S. 50km title and finishing as the top U.S. walker at the 2002 World Cup with a personal best of 3:56:13. He ended the season with his first-ever #1 U.S. ranking.
Dunn’s family is a source of inspiration and support. His twin brother, Malcom, also walked and ran competitively, and is now a cross country and track coach. His mother competes in marathons and his father races sailboats. Dunn married his college sweetheart, Liz Flynn, on September 22, 2001 in Alexandria, Va. Together they enjoy traveling, kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, reading and visits to the San Diego Zoo. Dunn graduated cum laude and received his B.A. degree in English from Carleton in 1993.
 Dunn with Clausen at the National 2 Hour Championships |
 Dunn leading the pack at the National 2 Hour Championships |
