LOOK AND SEE HOW THEY RAN Rich Kenah Rich (left) and relay team KR MIni-Interview KR: Which sports did you play at the age of ten? Rich: I played baseball, soccer, and basketball. KR: Did you participate in any training for running? Rich: At or around the age of 10 I didn't do much serious training. I raced in an occasional road race but my preparation consisted of one or two runs a week with my father of 1 to 3 miles each. KR: Did you run during your playtime? Rich: My brother and sister were not allowed to run around inside, so we played outside all the time. Most of our games involved running of some sort. Whether it was stickball or hide and seek we ran quite a bit. Maybe this was the beginning of my preparation for the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Oops! Homework first at Rich's house! KR: How many hours or miles did you spend or cover on running and other sports? Rich: Our homework always came first. After we finished this and whatever chores we had, we were free to run and play other sports for as long as we would like. At the young of age of 10, I don't think an athlete should spend too much time calculating his or her mileage. They should only do as much as they find fun. In this way, a young athlete will never lose his or her love for the sport. KR: Is there an athlete who inspired you when you were a child? RICH: The person who inspried me to be the athlete that I am today is Bruce Jenner. I still remember watching him compete in the 1976 Olympics. When I was in the 1st grade we had a school project to complete. We had to cut out pictures of our favorite people or things and I cut out a picture of Bruce Jenner and glued him onto my project. FACTS Rich won the bronze medal at the 1997 World Indoor and Outdoor Championships. He came in 2nd at 2000 Olympic Trials. In 1992, Rich was the NCAA indoor 800 champion. Birthday: August 4, 1970 Place of Birth: Montclair, New Jersey Rich is married to track star Cheri Goddard-Kenah. Rich's father was am 880 champion runner. Rich accompanied him to races as a child and ran the fun runs. KR LINKS Rich's Kid Graphic (above) is adapted from the October KR Calendar page. Kenah, Rich | USATF Bio | Back to LOOK and SEE How they RAN Index Rich competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Please email rwedit@rodale.com with comments on this column.