Bio

Francisco Gomez returned to a familiar environment when he became Cal Maritime's new head men's and women's cross country coach, as announced by Director of Athletics Karen Lee Yoder on July 10, 2023.

The 2024-25 season is his second at the helm of CSUM's cross country programs. 

Gomez led both of Holy Names' cross country programs when they competed in the California Pacific Conference prior before that department completed its transition to Division II in 2016. 

"In addition to his extensive experience executing all responsibilities associated with running a collegiate cross country program, I was impressed by his passion for providing the best possible academic and athletic experience to cadet-athletes," said Yoder.

"I'm excited and look forward to joining the Cal Maritime family and an athletic department with a very rich tradition of developing future leaders. I want to thank Karen Lee Yoder and her staff for believing in me," Gomez said.

Throughout his tenure with the Hawks, runners thrived under Gomez' tutelage by qualifying for the national championship for the first time in program history in 2009 before repeating that success the following year.

The two-time California Pacific Conference Coach of the Year also led HNU to conference titles in 2009 and 2010.

Gomez' coaching career began at Dublin High School as its assistant cross country coach for two seasons, followed by his seven-year tenure at Las Positas College in a similar role. Success at each of those levels led to his inaugural head coaching opportunity at Holy Names.

In addition to his coaching duties at Cal Maritime, Gomez will continue to serve the Northern California running community as the owner of Running Fit Lab, a Dublin, California-based company that specializes in creating personalized training plans for athletes of all fitness levels.

As the owner of The Fit Potato (also based in Dublin) since 2002, Gomez helped thousands of runners reach their goals, from completing a 5K, a full marathon, or longer distance, through personal coaching that includes the creation of weight loss plans, sports performance and fitness training. 

Since 2015, Gomez organized running clinics that focused on proper techniques, injury prevention and performance as a coach for the San Francisco Bay Area Tri-Valley Triathlon Club. 

Updated on 8/1/24