Andy Palmer

Andy Palmer was an American distance runner and coach. He competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon in 1984 and 1988. Palmer was also the Founder of ZAP Endurance, a high-performance training center for endurance athletes.

Early life

Palmer grew up in Madawaska, Maine and attended Madawaska High School, where he played basketball. He continued his basketball career at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Palmer didn't start running until after college at age 23.

He relocated to Boston in the late 1970s and began training with elite marathoners, Bill Rodgers and Charlie Spedding. Palmer ran 150 to 190 miles per week, far more than most runners can tolerate, and he routinely did hill workouts wearing a 40-pound vest.

Palmer made it to the 1988 Olympic Trials Marathon before stepping back from competitive racing to focus on teaching and coaching. He owned and operated the Maine Running Camp in Bar Harbor, Maine for over 20 years. Although Palmer died suddenly of a heart attack in 2002 shortly before ZAP opened, it ended its operation at the end of 2025.

Palmer was inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame in 2000.