Paul Reese (1917 – November 4, 2004) was a United States Marine Corps colonel during World War II, and he later became a high level administrator with the Sacramento City School District.
Reese ran in the early Rocklin ultras, the Lake Tahoe 72 Mile Run, London to Brighton, Comrades Marathon in South Africa, and the Western States 100 Miler.
The Clarksburg Country Run (originally the Pepsi 20), which preceded all the Northern California marathons, was a 20 miler for its first 15 or so years, beginning in 1966.
The 2005 event, which also has served as the 30 km Pacific Association USATF championship for many years, has been renamed the Paul Reese Memorial Clarksburg Country Run.
Two years later, he and wife Elaine headed east from their California home on a mission to run across each of the 14 remaining states west of the Mississippi River.