ROD DEHAVEN
KR Mini Chat
Last May, Rod DeHaven received the first kidsrunning.com Apple Pie American Pride Award for his strong and fast performance at the Pittsburgh Olympic Trials.
Here is Rod DeHaven (photo Victor Sailor/Photo Run) on his way to winning the Olympic Trials in May, 2000. His hair is plastered to his head from sweat and water he has poured over himself. His singlet has two air vents made by a pair of scissors before the event, but DeHaven looks strong and confident as he takes over the lead.
We thank Rod for taking time from his summer training to tell us a little about himself. Rod is an inspiration to us all and an exceptional athlete. While his running a 15.2 mile road race might not be the textbook distance recommended for kids, it worked for him. However, be sure to read DeHaven's note concerning this race in the footnotes.

Have fun reading about Rod and remember his next marathon will be on October 1 in Sydney, Australia. www.kidsrunning.com wishes Rod the best of luck.

From Rod:

I was born on September 21, 1966 in Sacramento, CA. I am an only child and my mother and father were divorced when I was one. My mother moved back to South Dakota after the divorce where I grew up. Sports Illustrated named me 26th Best Athlete of the Century from South Dakota, but they called me Ron instead of Rod.

PR's:

800 meters 1:48
1500 meters 3:40
5000 meters 13:40
10,000 meters 28:06
Half Marathon 1:02:40
Marathon 2:13:01

My first road race was at the age of 10. It was 15.2 miles and I ran/walked 2:41. My mother was very concerned the next day when I could not walk up the stairs.
I ran the race 6 years in row eventually running 1:25 after my junior year in high school.
I ran 4:40 for the mile and 10:14 for 2 miles in the 8th grade. When I was a senior in high school I ran 4:09 for 1600 meters and 9:08 for 3200 meters.

My wife Shelli and I have 2 sons named Addison (age 4) and Graham (22 months). We also have 2 cats (LeRoy and Elaine).

I run in New Balance shoes. I don't like to cross train. And if you ask Shelli she would say that my favorite food, without hesistation, is toast.

And sometimes when I don't feel like running, but I know I have to I tell myself that running is my chance to play as an adult and that I am lucky to have the opportunity to be able to do that.

A note by Rod about his 15.2 mile annual road race: The race always came about 2 weeks after my track season and I typically didn't do any running for a month or so after that. Because of the odd distance, I never really felt the need to compare my times with anyone else particularly when I was 11 and 12 years old. The danger in running a half marathon/marathon, per se, is the age group comparision. I would emphasize that rarely do national age group record holders (from ages 6 to 12 particularly) ever progress to be national class distance runners. This may mainly be due to the fact the majority of kids don't get involved with track and field/cross county until they're teenagers and that the age groupers are often times burnt out or hurt by that time.
What would you like to say to Rod DeHaven? Let us know. We may print your response.