Indiana University of Pennsylvania Athletics

There are only a few IUP track and field records that have stood for the past two decades. Peggy Ruffennach-Fees holds one of them, in the 800 meter run, a time of 2:08.80 set in 1982 when she finished as national runner-up in the AIA W (Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) championship meet. 

That achievement, an Eastern regional record at the time, capped a four-year career in which she was twice an All-American, even though it was not until her senior season that she emphasized the 800 distance. She came within one second of qualifying to compete in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

In her freshman through junior campaigns, Ruffennach-Fees had won three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships in the 400 meter intermediate hurdles, and was part of three 3200 meter relay teams who win PSAC titles.

Ruffennach-Fees also ran cross country from the time IUP first sponsored the sport at the varsity level in 1979. Both teams were coached by Ed Fry.
After graduating magna cum laude in speech and hearing, Ruffennach-Fees went on for an IUP master's degree in speech pathology (1984) and achieved a certificate of clinical competence as awarded by the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association.

In working as a speech and language therapist, her focus has been on children with disabilities. In 1984-87 she worked for the public schools in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and directed a program for individuals with autism.

Since then Ruffennach-Fees has been involved in various early- intervention programs in Northern Virginia, including stints in Fredericksburg, for four years as a pediatric therapist in a Prince William County parent infant education program, in Fairfax and Falls Church.

More recently, she has worked with a preschool day care center sponsored by the Easter Seals Society and is currently Director of the Speech and Language Center of Northern Virginia.
Husband Larry Fees was himself a record setting IUP runner as part of four-mile and distance medley teams whose times have never been bettered.

He too excelled in cross country and is now a special agent with the FBI in Washington, DC. The couple have two children, Garrett, 12, and Karli, 10.