2025 Cause for Celebration: Suzie Tuffey

Cause for Celebration
Written By Shannon Halford

Photo courtesy NC State University

Among the most dominant female runners to emerge from the River City, Suzie Tuffey rises to the spotlight for this week’s Triumphs of Women in Running as part of the SC415 2025 Cause for Celebration Presented by PNC.

Her name says it all: Tuffey’s legacy is a tough run, impossible to beat, and relentless in the face of injury and adversity. Running for Bergan High School in the 80s (before it was consolidated into Peoria Notre Dame), Tuffey boasted a 4:46 Mile and a national record at the time of a 10:13 2 Mile!

Photo courtesy NC State University

She went on to run at North Carolina State, where she immediately won the NCAA cross country championship her freshman year. She raced locally as well, winning our very own 4 Mile Steamboat Classic in 1984 with a blazing 21:31.

Greater Peoria is proud to be home to national championship caliber runners like Tuffey. Thank you for joining us in honoring her triumphs!

Shannon Halford

Shannon Halford is a practicing web designer, brand strategist and creative director who was raised by the river and married by the mountains. The work balances natural beauty with intuitive function and shibui sensibility, creating unforgettable experiences with world class brands. The studios are located just west of the Illinois River in the heart of the American Midwest.

https://firesidedesignstudios.com
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2025 Cause for Celebration: Katherine Switzer