Bio

Chris Robinson was named Eureka College cross county head coach on Jan. 16, 2020.

In the Eureka cross country and distance team’s second full season back since it was revived in 2020, the Red Devils had its best season in program history, setting 16 new school records, garnering 10 all-conference honors and four individual St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships.

As a team, the Eureka women earned a second-place finish overall at the SLIAC Cross Country Meet in the fall for the first time in program history. The men’s team placed fifth overall for the first time in program history.

At the SLIAC Indoor Championships in February, Karissa Heffernan captured a SLIAC title in the mile and the 3,000-meter run, and Rachel Fisher placed first in the 800. Heffernan ended the 2023-23 season by winning her third conference title in the 1,500 at the SLIAC Outdoor Championships in April.

A 2013 Eureka College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership, Robinson was an admissions counselor from 2013 to 2017, and has been the Assistant Director of Transfer Admissions since 2017.

Robinson has spent over 20 years providing strong leadership, work ethic and integrity in professional roles in a variety of industries.

Robinson was born in Dearborn, Michigan, but his family moved to Morton when he was 12, and he has resided in central Illinois since then. Despite breaking a five-minute mile, Robinson  — who played football and basketball at Morton High School — didn’t develop a passion for running until later in life.

Over the past 12 years, he’s competed and participated in a variety of area 5Ks, half-marathons, ultra-marathons and trail running events. Throughout his competitions, Robinson has been very competitive in his age group, collecting several medals along the way and once winning a 5K in Germantown. In December 2019, he competed in a full marathon for the first time in Memphis, Tennessee, clocking in at 4:09:46.

Robinson lives in Eureka with his wife, Robin, and his two children, Nora and Nigel.