The success of his athletes on the track can be surmised by an inspection of the Terrier record books. On the men's side, Lehane has helped Terrier athletes establish every Boston University record from the 800 meters (1:46.59) through the 10K (28:21). On the women's side, his competitors have also eclipsed the former school marks in every event from the 800M (2:03.37) through the 10K (32:41).  

In recognition of his numerous accomplishments, Lehane was named the District I Cross Country Coach of the Year in each 1993, and 1996, while he has similarly been cited as the AMERICA EAST Coach of the Year on ten occasions. In 1985, he was named New England Indoor Coach of the Year  

     Philosophy/Personal Statement: "What I seek for the runners I coach is their 'gold medal' performance. A personal gold medal performance is what might be called a supreme achievement for that individual. For what athletics is all about is the pursuit of excellence. When you have prepared yourself very well for the challenge, and have raced at the peak of your physical and mental resources, there comes a sense of fulfillment and achievement that more than compensates for all the effort. You gain a dimension of character that you can call on whenever you have to."  

     Training Methods: "No one system works for all athletes. The key to successful training is to match the training loads to what the individual athlete benefits from. For some athletes, that might mean more weekly mileage, for another that might mean scheduling two water workouts per week because more running results in breakdown. Generally, we stress the importance of base fitness, the periodization of speed work, and not over racing."  

     Goals: "I have goals for our team and I have goals for each individual. For the team, we always have it in our minds to be a top national class team. Locally we have good competition so it usually goes hand in hand that if we can compete in our own backyard we can do very well on the national scene as well. History has proven this. For individuals on my team, I am typically trying to help them move up two or three levels of competition. So that if they are already a strong local performer, I am trying to get them to move up to a national class performer. If the athlete is a strong national class performer, I am trying to get them to an international class level of performance. In other words, I see my job as a coach to help the athlete to improve."  

     Education and Athletics: "I love sport, but it is no substitute for a good education nor a career. In its place, sport brings a wonderful zest and excitement to life. But it is critical not to allow sport to get in the way of the full development of other aspects of life. The primary purpose for attending college is to receive a strong education and to lay the ground work for one's career. The key to success in athletics and academics is to budget one's time wisely. We often find that when runners are running well, their academics are going well too. That is because they have their priorities straight and they are focused on what they want to achieve."  

     Autobiographical: Born in 1949, Bruce spent most of his childhood in South Boston, Massachusetts. The family moved to Hayward, CA. for three years where he was introduced to the sports of track and cross country. Moving back to Boston, Bruce graduated from Boston English School in 1966, where he was coached by Mr. Fred Gillis. Bruce graduated from Boston State College in 1970 with a Bachelor's Degree in English and Secondary Education. While at Boston State College, he set school records in the 880 and mile runs, earned N.A.I.A. All-American during junior and senor years, and was coached by the renowned Bill Squires, whom Bruce regards as his mentor.   Graduating from the University of Lowell with a Master's Degree in Reading and Language, he taught developmental and remedial reading for 5 years in the public schools of Maine. He began his coaching career with Boston University in 1982. Bruce is married to Lesley Lehane, and has three sons, Blaize, Elliot, and Aidan.  

 

All-Americans Coached by Coach Lehane

1983/84 - Marti Shea (Cross Country)  

1984/85 - Dean Crowe (1500 Meters, Indoors), Pat Gillooly (10,000 Meters Outdoors)  

1985/86 - Dean Crowe (Cross Country), Lisa Welch (Cross Country), Are Nakkim (5000 Meters, Outdoors), Lisa Welch (10,000 Meters, Outdoors)  

1986/87 - Dean Crowe (Cross Country), Are Nakkim (Cross Country), Eirik Hansen (3000 Meters, Indoors), Are Nakkim (5000 Meters, Outdoors), Dean Crowe (5000 Meters, Outdoors), Beth McMacken (5000 Meters, Outdoors), Jerry Lawson (10,000 Meters, Outdoors)  

1990/91 - Jennifer Lanctot (Cross Country), Jennifer Lanctot (Mile, Indoors), Jennifer Lanctot (1500 Meters, Outdoors)  

1992/93 - Christine Stief (Mile, Indoors)  

1993/94 - Christine Stief (Cross Country), Christine Stief (Mile, Indoors), Bernd Breitmaier (3000 Meters, Indoors)  

1994/95 - Christine Stief (Cross Country), Christine Stief (3000 Meters Indoors), Christine Stief (3000 Meters Outdoors)  

1995/96 - Kevin Murphy (800 Meters, Outdoors, US Championships)  

1996/97 - Kevin Murphy (800 Meters, Indoors)  

1997/98 - Rosemary Ryan (Cross Country), Kevin Muprhy (800 Meters, Indoors), Matthew Smith (3000 Meters, Indoors), Rosemary Ryan (5000 Meters, Outdoors), Karl Rasmussen (10,000 Meters, Outdoors)  

1999/2000 - Kathryn Irleland (5000 Meters, Outdoors) 

2003/04 - Jochen Dieckfoss (3000 Meter Steeplechase, Outdoors)

Olympians: Rosemary Ryan (2000 Olympics), Cathy O'Brien (1988 Olympics)

World Championships Cross Country: Lesley Lehane (5th. place), Rosemary Ryan, Matthew Smith, Karl Rasmussen, Are Nakkim, Eirik Hansen, Markku Kyyronnen.

National Champions: Lesley Lehane (USA XC, 3k Indoors), Matthew Smith (British XC), Karl Rasmussen (Norwegian XC), Are Nakkim (Norwegian 5k, 10k), Eirik Hansen (Norwegian 5k), Jennifer Lanctot (NCAA mile), Dean Crowe (NCAA 5000).