Marc Burns enters his 10th season as Loyola's cross country coach and his seventh season as the head track and field coach after coming off a very productive 2004-05 season in both sports. His 2004 men's and women's cross country teams posted second-place finishes at the Horizon League Championships. Both squads produced a combined seven runners that earned All-Horizon League honors, including first-team selection Maurecca Lambert, who finished second in the individual race. During the indoor track season, several LU athletes managed to set several school records en route to the men's and women's teams capturing third-place honors at the Horizon League Championships with four Ramblers winning league individual titles. Five more Horizon League individual champions highlighted the outdoor season, including Rebecca Long, who leaped to second in LU annals after winning the league's 800m title. Sean Conroy captured Outstanding Track Performer honors at the HL Championships after clinching the league championship in the 3,000m steeplechase and placing second in the 1,500m run.

"Its an honor for me to be coaching at Loyola, a program rich in history," Burns said. "I want to continue to work hard and try to add something special to the history of the program. Our alumni deserve great things as they have contributed so much of their time and resources to help make us successful."

Burns believes in a well-balanced team both on and off the track. The men's and women's teams have earned all-academic status the past eight seasons by accumulating over a 3.0 grade point average as a team, including 18 Academic All-Horizon League honorees last season. The men's team achieved the highest team G.P.A. (3.13) of all men's teams at Loyola 2003-04. Krystine McGuinn and Tyler Nicholson were awarded the 2004 Scholar Athlete awards for graduating with the highest GPA of all men and women student-athletes.

Burns led the cross country squad to a successful season in 2003-04. The cross country squads finished the season with two strong second place finishes in the Horizon League. The men's team went on to finish in fifth place for the third year in a row at the NCAA Region V Championships. The men's and women's track and field teams continue to gain momentum in the Horizon League as well. The men's team captured second place at the 2004 Outdoor Horizon League Championships.

During the 2003 cross country season last fall, Burns led both the men's and women's teams to second place finishes at the Horizon League Championships. The Andrew McQuillan (fifth-place finish) and Robert Wade (seventh-place finish) earned two first team all-honors, while Sam Romanoski, Andy Sbertoli and Sean Conroy earned second-team honors. Romanoski also earned the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year award for his performance. The men also went on to finish fifth in the NCAA Region V Championships for the third year in a row. Wade and McQuillan earned All-Region honors with their 13th and 20th place finishes.

The women's team also stacked the All-Horizon League first and second team lists. Rookie Amanda Domich earned first team honors by finishing fifth and Kim Weidman capped off her career at Loyola by earning first team honors too. Loyola had three women, Maureeca Lambert, Anna Hinterschied and Sara Covert who earned second team honors.

The 2004 track season was packed with personal accomplishments and new records under Burns' direction. Burns' freshman crew on the women's team made their presence known in the conference. Rookie Marcia Faustin took the new indoor record for the Ramblers in the high jump with 5-8, while Michelle Bellford set two new school records in the triple jump with a mark of 39-1 and in the long jump with a leap of 17-9.50. During the outdoor season, Bellford continued to break records, posting a 39-7.75 in the triple jump and 18-0.75 in the long jump. Faustin's high jump mark of 5-8.50 broke the school and Horizon League Outdoor Championship meet records. Faustin and Bellford also excelled at the NCAA Mideast Region meet in Baton Rouge, La. Faustin finished eighth in the region, narrowly missing a trip to the NCAA Championships. Her eighth-place finish earned Loyola's first ever team point in the second year of the outdoor region meet concept. Bellford set the school record in the triple jump (37-7.75) at the regional meet.

On the men's side, Shawn Lucas earned the Tom O'Hara team award for his performances at the indoor Horizon League Championships. Lucas finished second in the 1,000m and third in the mile, while setting a personal record outdoors in the 1,500m of 3:50.95. Laith Hoffarth captured two second place finishes in the high jump at the Horizon League indoor and outdoor championships. Hoffarth established a new school record of 6-10.75 at the Doug Raymond Invitational. Chad Tredway had another successful season recording the second fastest indoor 200m time (22.19) in the history of the program. He also defended his outdoor 400m championship with a mark of 47.68. The men's team finished third at the indoor championships and second at the outdoor championships, while the women grabbed fourth and fifth place, respectively.

The 2002-03 season for Burns was successful in both cross country and track and field. Kate Hartman set a new school record for the 400m hurdles with a 1:03.49 finish of 21:25 at the Horizon League Outdoor Championships while on the men's side Tredway claimed the second spot on the all-time record list with a time of 48.45. The men's and women's squads finished third and fourth at the Horizon League Outdoor Championships.

In addition to the men's and women's cross country titles in 2001, Burns saw Kristyne McGuinn capture the individual crown on the women's side and he was praised by his peers as both the Men's and Women's Horizon League Cross Country Coach of the Year. Loyola's success under Burns was not limited to cross country as both the men's and women's teams posted their highest-ever point totals at the Horizon League Indoor Track & Field Championships. McGuinn notched the 18th-fastest time in the country in the indoor 5,000m while Donnie Franzen provisionally qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000m by running the 31st-fastest time in the nation. Nikole Hoster and Dave Zabel both set school records in their respective events during the outdoor campaign as well. Zabel's clocking of 8:52.69 in the 3,000m steeplechase established a new school record and garnered the 29th-best time in the country, while Hoster's time set the women's 1,500m school record.

Burns tutored the Ramblers to great heights in the 2000-01 season. The women were successful awarding five runners to all-league status, while the men honored three. Among those influenced by Burns was McGuinn, who broke the Horizon League Championship record in the outdoor 10,000m (36:49.56), set two individual school records and was a part of two record-breaking relay teams. She combined with teammates Alana Crisman, Nikole Hoster and Katisha Triner to set new school records in the 4x800m(8:56.68) and the distance medley relay (11:44.20). Michael Mueller set the tone for the men's team by winning the indoor 1,000m conference championship and ran the fifth-fastest 1,500m time in school history at 3:46.19.

In the summer of 2001, two of Burns' pupils, Alana Crisman and Kim Wiedman, turned in commendable performances at the USATF Championships. Crisman competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and just missed advancement into the finals by one place. Crisman is the Loyola school-record holder in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and also holds outdoor school records in the 1,500-meter and the 3K run. Wiedman finished seventh in the 5,000-meter run to earn USATF Junior All-America honors.

During his first year at the head of both programs, the Ramblers set numerous top ten school marks and both the men's and women's teams captured second place at the 1999 League Cross Country Championships.

Prior to the 1999-2000 campaign, Burns had served as the head women's cross country and assistant men's and women's track and field coach for three seasons. In those three years, Burns guided the women's cross country squad to three second-place finishes at the League Championships.

As a student-athlete, Burns excelled in both cross country and track under his predecessor, Gordon Thomson. His personal bests at Loyola have placed him in the top 10 all-time Rambler records in several events. Burns was a three-time All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference cross country selection, a two-time Central Collegiate mile champion with a mile personal record of 4:04.40 and a two-time 5,000m indoor MCC champion. He earned NCAA All-America status twice in his career. The first came as a member of the school record setting 4x800m relay team that finished sixth in the nation in 1989 running 7:23.62. In 1990, Burns became a two-time All-American when he ran the third-fastest 3,000m time in the nation at 7:58.90.

Burns earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Loyola in 1991 and worked for Russell Stover Candies/Whitman's Candies, Inc., as a sales representative in Chicago, a district sales manager in Memphis, Tenn., and a regional sales manager in Cleveland, Ohio, until 1995.