Petersen attended Islip High School until he graduated in 1978. He competed in cross country and track in high school, and was described as a competitive runner but had no extraordinary results as a high-schooler. From his earliest years of running he was identified as having an unusual running form.
High school Collegiate Petersen first attended Farmingdale State College for two years, and then transferred to Manhattan College, where he graduated in 1981. At the time, Manhattan College had one of the most competitive collegiate distance running programs in the United States, and when Petersen transferred, the team had Bill Krohn. Post-collegiate He ran for Warren Street Social and for a time was sponsored by Adidas.
In 1991 he collapsed in the middle of a workout in Central Park and was subsequently diagnosed with a heart irregularity, which ultimately ended his competitive running career.
