In Memory

Edward (Drew) Mearns III

The website was recently informed of the passing of Edward (Drew) Mearns III

Edward Andrew Mearns III

DECEMBER 27, 1952 – MARCH 15, 2021

IN THE CARE OF 

Nelsen Williamsburg

Edward A. Mearns III (Drew), husband to Kate (née Jones), father, grandfather, and brother, passed away in Virginia on March 15, 2021 at the age of 68 after a brief illness. Born in Naples, Italy on December 27, 1952 to Ted and Pat (Simonson) Mearns, Drew was a native of Virginia, raised in Charlottesville and made the Williamsburg and Surry areas his home for over three decades.

Drew’s lifelong passion was coaching athletes. He was regarded as one of the most influential men in USA track and field history and his legacy is a testament to his positive impact on so many. Drew was an accomplished high school, collegiate, and international-class distance runner, including at Evanston Township High School, Yale University, New York Athletic Club, and the Charlottesville Track Club. As an undergraduate at Yale, he earned varsity letters in cross country and track, receiving All-Ivy recognition, winning numerous races and setting course records across the country. After graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. in Literature (’74), he went on to earn his M.A. at University of Kentucky while coaching the university’s distance team. He pursued his law degree at the University of Virginia (’79) and during this time became UVA’s first women’s cross country coach, producing numerous All-Americans. After working as a young lawyer at Jones Day in Cleveland, he became the first international track and field agent and youngest officer for Mark McCormack’s famed International Management Group. He managed dozens of Olympians, world record-holders, and most of the world’s top distance runners and triathletes (including Sebastian Coe, Alberto Salazar, Bill Rodgers, Anne Audain, Craig Virgin, Sydney Maree, Ben Johnson, Rob De Castella, Mark Allen, Scott Molina and many, many others). Drew always advocated vigorously for the empowerment of women in sports, including founding the Action Sports Alliance and negotiating significant pay increases for female action sports athletes.

Adding to his career, Drew was a beloved teacher and formerly served as the head of the Religion Department at Walsingham Academy. It was during this time that he returned to coaching and mentoring young athletes, including all five of his own children. Numerous records and championships followed under his training, including at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Drew was holistic in his approach, understanding that great distance runners ‘grew’ primarily from the relationship between an athlete and their coach. With this philosophy, he founded the Growing Runners Track Club. He was also instrumental in the development of the District Track Club in Washington D.C. that had a mission of not only building top athletes on the track but creating community leaders off it. Drew generally loved to help people. He used his vast experience and entrepreneurial nature to help many other business owners achieve success. In addition to coaching and his many other professional accomplishments, he was an owner of Q-Link Products, a performance and wellness company.

Drew’s interests were deep and eclectic. He was well-read, always surrounded by stacks of books, and well-traveled, including studying at Oxford University and living on a remote island in New Zealand with his young family. Drew was an active member of the Spirituality and Sustainability Global Network, and spoke recently in Assisi, Italy. He served on numerous boards and was asked to speak at conferences around the world. He was always eager to discuss profound questions of human life with a dash of wit and self-deprecating humor. Even when facing a challenging diagnosis, he did so with acceptance and peace.

Drew married Kate in 1986 in Gates Mills, Ohio, after which they settled in Williamsburg. Together they raised five children, Erin (Nicholas), Andrew (Abigail), Colin, and twin daughters Devon and Matia, and recently welcomed two granddaughters into the family. Many of us will mourn Drew’s passing, including his eight siblings, many nieces and nephews, and the innumerable athletes and students who grew strong in body, mind, and spirit under Coach Mearns’ care.

In lieu of flowers or donations, Drew’s family asks that people remember him by living generously and magnanimously in spirit and in service.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/williamsburg-va/edward-mearns-10105986