Crystal Bacon
Crystal Bacon
Title: Associate Head Coach
Phone: (610) 409-3253
Email: cbacon@ursinus.edu

Crystal Bacon enters her seventh year as the associate head coach for the men’s and women’s track and field and cross country programs at Ursinus College. Bacon brings an impressive resume as both a runner and coach. She works directly with the women’s distance/mid-distance program while also overseeing a variety of administrative duties.

Prior to Ursinus, Bacon worked at a Physical Therapy clinic as a Performance Enhancement Specialist, where she created sport-specific conditioning programs for clients to help them achieve their personal goals. She also has experience working at a well-respected running specialty store where she has continued to apply her background with running and gait analysis.

Through these experiences, Bacon believes “There is always something you can do." She believes being an athlete is about conquering barriers and being stronger because of them. She finds it extremely rewarding as a coach to help her athletes achieve new personal bests all while helping them fall even more in love with the sport.

The former Crystal Burnick was a standout runner at Division II Slippery Rock University, garnering Academic All-America honors all four years by provisionally qualifying for the NCAA championships and earning a GPA of 3.5 or higher. She was a two-time Atlantic All-Region Team nominee.

Over the last few years, Bacon has continued her success with running post collegiately by placing in the top 10 at the Blue Cross Broad Street Run five times. In 2016, she was the first female to cross the finish line, completing the 10-mile race in just under 57 minutes. Bacon boasts personal bests of 4:47 in the mile, 16:50 in the 5k, 1:16.55 in the half marathon, and 2:44:04 in the marathon. Most recently she qualified and raced in the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon which is now one of her greatest running accomplishments.

A 2011 graduate of Slippery Rock, Bacon holds a master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from California University of Pennsylvania. She holds several certifications including the endurance specialist certification from the USTFCCCA, USATF Level I, Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) certified coach, and both a performance enhancement specialist (PES) certification and National Association of Speed and Explosion (NASE) certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).