University of British Columbia Athletics

Over his twenty-eight-year span, Marek served as UBC’s Cross-Country and Track & Field Coach. In fact as of 2024, twenty eight years places him in the top four in UBC History in terms of head coaching longevity.

Defecting from Poland, Marek was in Canada only four years before being hired by UBC. It was his European coaching experience and expertise that initially gained him a position with Athletics Canada as a high-performance coach despite at the same time having to learn English. UBC was fortunate to have him coach while based on campus beginning with the 1987/88 season.

Over the many years since, with the assistance of Thelma Wright, Carmyn James, and Laurier Primeau and the mentoring of Doug Clement, Marek carved out a successful career at Point Grey, not just through significant coaching skills, but also through his appealing personality. In 1993, he coached UBC’s Men’s Cross-Country team to the Canadian Championship earning him the CIS Coach of the Year honours. Then in 2012, 2013, and 2014, Marek’s women Cross-Country team won the US National NAIA Championship those three consecutive years. It is not easy to beat the US in athletics at any level… this reflected in the induction of coach Marek into the NAIA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2023.

Marek states his greatest thrills are not just winning, but watching an athlete improve over time, from high school through university and beyond. He says progress in an athlete “keeps me happy”. In  the words of UBC Hall of Fame coach, Hash Kanjee, “Marek seemed to have a keen eye for spotting talent and once he got them to come to UBC, he worked hard to make sure his athletes were successful both in their education and their athletic pursuits. That takes a special person who values the success of the individual person above all else…you only have to look at the number of Academic All-Canadians during his tenure as proof of his understanding the value of a good education and sport”.

Marek’s coaching reputation across the country grew and in 2000 was selected to the coaching staff of Canada’s team for the Sydney Olympics. The Olympics and Marek were interconnected in another way in that eleven of his UBC athletes competed for Canada’s Olympic team including bronze medalist Evan Dunfee, Liz Gleadle, Jeff Schiebler, Inaki Gomez, and Luc Bruchet.  In a letter Evan Dunfee sent to Marek, Evan stated, “With your help, you enabled me to discover a love of learning that never existed before and that thrived and flourished at UBC. That love transformed me both as a person and an athlete and allowed me to reach heights in sport I had previously only dreamed were possible”. Marek has also coached at eleven World Cross-Country Championships as well as FISU, Commonwealth, and Pan-American Games. Many of Marek’s athletes hold UBC school records as he and UBC Hall of Fame Track & Field coach Lionel Pugh pretty well monopolize this particular list.

One area in which Marek excelled was his unique ability to raise funds for his sport through his “events” at hotels and night clubs.  He possessed the knack and joy to create these “can’t miss” gatherings which drew from a wide audience, connecting people and drawing interest and attention to UBC and his sport.

At the same time Marek is good at staying connected with his alumni and supporting and respecting the history of his sport at UBC.

Written by Fred Hume