Walk, Don’t Run, Is Coed’s Sometimes Motto

Kathleen Huddlestone, 18, of Westminster walks faster than any other woman in Orange County and some day hopes to walk faster than any other woman in the world.

And if she does, Huddlestone wants it to be in the 1992 Olympic Games.

“Race walkers don’t hit their peak until their late 20s,” she said, “so the timing would be right.” By that time, she feels that Olympic race walking, currently limited to men, will include women.

Developing into a world-class race walker means “I have to walk with men just to practice,” said the long-striding Golden West College coed, who is nationally ranked. “Most times, I train by myself because there aren’t any other women race walkers in Orange County.”

She also points out that the loneliness of her event continues when race-walking competition is held at a track meet. “That’s when a lot of the spectators get up and take a walk, mostly because they don’t understand the sport,” she said. Her lonely training sessions cover the 50 miles a week she walks when training for long races, and that is separate from her cross-country race training (running, not walking) as a member of the college women’s track team.

She usually practices for both sports on the college track.

In contrast to her running competition, race walking requires contestants to keep one foot on the ground at all times, “but regular running actually helps my race walking,” she contends. “Running builds up muscles that aren’t used during race walking.”

Ron Daniels, president of the Walkers Club of Los Angeles, a competitive and fitness walking group, believes Huddlestone “just needs to put it all together” to be a major force in race walking. “She’s got the ability.”

Bob Hickey of Westminster, a retired Los Angeles police sergeant who is her race-walking coach and a national race-walking judge, feels that Huddlestone “has every potential to be in the top five or 10 women in the nation if she learns to control her emotions and becomes more assertive.”

Huddlestone agrees with Hickey but says “it’s terrible to get so many questions like: ‘doesn’t that hurt your hips, isn’t that really hard on your body and aren’t you embarrassed?’ ”

Hickey believes that is a major problem in attracting young people to race walking.

“They think it looks funny,” he said.

It’s a Virgin Island beetle called Preschi and its main characteristic is feeding on animal carcasses.

But never you mind, feels Cal State Fullerton Prof. William Presch, after whom the beetle was named in honor of his work in zoology.

“Not everybody gets an animal named after him,” said Presch, a herpetologist (reptiles and amphibians). The beetle’s generic name is cryptorhopalum.

Acknowledgments--Robert Book, 16, Los Alamitos High School junior, captained his Junior Achievement team to victory over 125 competitors during 3-day conference in Bloomington, Ind. . . . Santa Ana business woman Doris Weaver appointed to the nonprofit Providence Speech and Hearing Center board of directors . . . . Former Pasadena YMCA executive Kenneth Brock named executive director of the West County Family YMCA in Huntington Beach.