He ranked among the top ten US marathoners six straight years, reaching seventh in the world in 1982.
Durden ran track in Sacramento, California as a youth, aspiring to become a miler.
Durden won the inaugural Cooper River Bridge Run, which was shortened to 9,850 meters by authorities after the gun started for the race, in 1978.
In 1980, on a course running from Buffalo, New York, to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Durden finished second in the symbolic US Olympic Trials (the boycott had already been announced by the time the Trials were held in May) against one of the deepest field of American marathoners ever assembled.
In December, 2006, he returned to Sacramento where he recorded a time of 3:01:03 at the California International Marathon.
Source:Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) Runner:Benji Durden