Distance Runner Setting the Pace : Ochoa Hopes His Success Provides Example for Others

Somewhere between the busy streets of Anaheim and the high, wide-open plains of Alamosa, Colo., Marco Ochoa found his path to success.

Today, the 25-year-old native of Guadalajara, Mexico, who graduated from Anaheim High School, is less than a year away from receiving his undergraduate degree from Adams State College in Colorado.

In addition, Ochoa, a two-time All-American at Adams State, is a national-class distance runner who continues to improve.

He is proud of these accomplishments and hopes that someday he can inspire others, especially those who face the same problems he experienced as a Mexican immigrant growing up in Anaheim.

“In junior high, I didn’t want to go out for any sports because I didn’t speak English,” Ochoa said. “I was Mexican. They were American. I felt I didn’t want to get mixed up (involved). I was scared. That’s how a lot of people like me felt.”

Ochoa hopes to change that way of thinking in the minds of his future student-athletes. After he receives his degree in secondary education next June, Ochoa wants to return to Orange County to teach, coach and inspire, he hopes at his alma mater, Anaheim High.

Based on his experiences alone, Ochoa ought to have plenty of worthwhile lessons to pass on.

Ochoa moved from Mexico in 1978 to join his mother and sister in Anaheim. As a sophomore at Anaheim High, Ochoa started running and lifting weights with a friend in the mornings before school. The track coach took notice and persuaded the two boys to join the team.

“The coach said, ‘There’s a meet Thursday. Be there,’ ” Ochoa said. “But we thought he was saying ‘meeting.’ So when Thursday came, we waited and waited for the meeting. No one came. It happened again the next Thursday. I think our team lost two meets that way.”

Once Ochoa found his way, he became the fastest runner in his class. The next year, he was the fastest junior and the next year, the fastest senior.

But his non-running friends, Ochoa said, couldn’t understand his interest in sports.

“My friends would say, ‘Hey, drink a beer, get buzzed,’ Ochoa said. “Then it was, ‘Let’s take speed, Black Beauties, this pill, that pill, smoke pot . . .

“I never smoked pot in my life, but most of my friends are still into either pot or coke (cocaine). They’re still my friends, but that’s an inspiration for me to do good. They’re not willing to stop now, (but) maybe they will say: ‘Hey, he’s doing something with his life.’ Maybe they can realize they can do it too, they can change their life.”

Although his best track times in high school--4:32 in the mile, 9:52 in the two-mile--weren’t spectacular, Ochoa decided he wanted to run in college. He enrolled at Santa Ana College (now Rancho Santiago).

Ochoa gradually improved at Santa Ana, setting a school record in the 10,000 (30:38) and tying a school record in the 5,000 (14:51). But his years at Santa Ana were not without difficulties.

His family, Ochoa says, did not support his running. They wanted him to quit school so he could work and help bring in some money. So Ochoa started working nights at a fast-food restaurant.

“That’s when I started having problems,” he said. “After work, I’d go to a friend’s house, and I was getting home at 2 in the morning. I’d sleep through classes, miss school . . . I realized I needed to change all that.”

With the help of Rancho Santiago Coach Al Siddons--Ochoa credits him with “turning my life around”--Ochoa developed into a dedicated student, and a more dedicated athlete.

When it came time to choose a four-year college, Ochoa picked Adams State, a school of 2,500 students in southern Colorado. As it turned out, Adams State, and its coach, Dr. Joe Vigil, were a perfect match for Ochoa.

“Coach Vigil is an academics-first guy,” Ochoa said. “That’s what I want too. Education is always the most important thing to him. Running is always second.”

Still, Adams State is one of the most successful distance running programs in the country. The school is the six-time defending National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics champion in cross-country. Its alumni include Pat Porter, The Athletics Congress’ seven-time defending cross-country champion who, along with many other world-class runners, still trains with the Adams State team.

Vigil, an Alamosa, Colo., native who started the program 25 years ago, said Ochoa is one of his favorite success stories.

“Marco’s one of those unique individuals who’s been able to commit himself,” Vigil said. “He’s had to overcome a lot. He’s made a success out of himself in the academic department, he’s made a success of himself in the athletic department. . . . He’s become part of the spirit here, and I’m very, very proud of him.”

That pride is shared by Siddons, and most of the current distance runners at Rancho Santiago.

Said Rancho Santiago freshman Roger Nava: “Yeah, I really look up to him for what he’s done and how far he’s gone.

“I mean, we all see he did it. Maybe we can do it too.”

Running Notes

Former Edison High standout Chris Parmer won the Cypress 5K last Saturday in 15:11. Anet Cooper of Brea won the women’s division in 17:03. Ron Gee of Los Angeles won the 10K in 31:46 and Anita Johnson of Long Beach won the women’s 10K in 36:53. . . . The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. cross-country championships will be Nov. 27 at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.

Race Schedule:

Today: College of the Canyons 5K cross-country series. College of the Canyons, Valencia. 7 p.m. Very challenging cross-country course. Call (805) 944-2511.

Paramount Ranch Cross-Country 2- and 3-mile Gran Prix, 6:30 p.m., Paramount Ranch, Agoura. For more information, call (818) 992-6219.

Manufacturers Hanover Corporate Challenge. Griffith Park, 7 p.m. Call 874-5970.

Third Legg Lake 5K Good Evening Run. Legg Lake, South El Monte, 6:30 p.m. For information, call (213) 949-0394.

Saturday: A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream Run 5K & 12K. Coto de Caza. 5K at 5 p.m., 12K at 5:45 p.m. Scenic, but hilly, all-dirt course. No on-site registration. Limited to 2,700 entrants (last year’s event drew more than 4,000). Arrive early, last year’s traffic delayed the race for 30 minutes. For information, call 858-2793.

Third San Gabriel River 12K Run. Santa Anita Avenue at Durfee Street, South El Monte. For information, call (213) 949-0394.

Tuesday: Corona del Mar Fun Runs. Informal three-mile, cross-country race in Newport Beach’s Upper Newport Bay. 6:15 p.m. Race surface is 95% dirt. Starts approximately one-half mile north of intersection of Back Bay Road and San Joaquin Drive in Newport Beach. For more information, call 644-5026.