Gonzales Might Outrun His Identity Crisis

Even when standing beside the slimmest of his distance-running peers, Mark Gonzales still stands out--if not for his 6-foot, 115-pound frame, then for his wild mane of dark brown hair that hangs several inches below his shoulders.

But aside from these physical characteristics, and the fact that he finished last cross-country season as the fastest runner in Orange County, the La Habra High School junior has managed to keep a profile so low, most of the county’s top runners or their coaches have no idea who Gonzales is.

That’s just fine with Gonzales.

“I like to keep off to the side,” he said. “I like to sit in the back, waiting until my time comes.”

Based on his performance last fall, that time would seem to be now.

In the Orange County Cross-Country Championships last October, Gonzales ran the third-fastest time of the day overall, just a few seconds behind the county’s two most celebrated runners, San Clemente’s Mike Farrell and Dana Hills’ Daniel Niednagel. But because Gonzales ran in an unseeded race, few of his competitors noticed his performance.

One month later, at the state meet in Fresno, Gonzales ran faster than any county runner, including Farrell. A week later at the Kinney Western Regional championships at Fresno, he finished 11th overall in a field of about 200 of the best high school runners in the Western United States.

His time, 15 minutes 19 seconds, was 41 seconds faster than Niednagel, The Times’ cross-country runner of the year.

“When I saw how he did, I just go, ‘Whoa!’ ” Niednagel said. “I mean, that’s fast. He really showed he can run with the big boys.”

Gonzales might be able to run with them, but he certainly wouldn’t be able to identify most top runners in a crowd. Gonzales said he avoids thinking about other runners’ times, strengths and weaknesses altogether.

“My dad brings out the papers and starts reading off people’s times and stuff, but I don’t listen,” Gonzales said. “I mean, I know, uh, I think his name is, what, Nightingale? (Niednagel). And Mike someone (Farrell) from San Clemente . . . But I don’t really pay attention.”

Now, with track season under way, Gonzales will have the opportunity to better prove his talent.

Although he has yet to run an all-out effort, Gonzales has clocked a four-minute 20-second mile split in a relay earlier this month. As a runner with more strength than speed, though, the two-mile would seem to be his better distance. Gonzales says his goal is to run 9:10, but others think he might even break the nine-minute barrier, something that hasn’t been done by a county runner in the last five years.

“The way I see it is that if you have too high expectations, it’s only going to let you down,” said Gonzales, who will run the 800 and 3,200 meters Saturday at the Valencia Invitational. “I’d rather surprise myself.”

As he often surprises others, not only with his running, but with his personality. He is bright--he carries a 3.8 grade-point average--but also very quiet and often withdrawn. Aside from running, he spends most of his spare time alone reading medieval fantasy literature, collecting swords of samurai and ninja distinction, and caring for his dog, Tass, and his rabbit, Woodstock.

“Our neighbor says if Mark waves goodby, he’s given you a whole conversation,” Nancy Gonzales, Mark’s mother, said. “He’s very quiet and real laid back.”

How laid back? Consider this: When his parents presented him a nearly new van for his 16th birthday last spring, Gonzales politely said thanks, but no thanks.

“He just said, ‘No thanks, I don’t need it,’ ” his father, Mike Gonzales, said. “I’m thinking, he’s 16 and this is the perfect car. But he just said no, that he could get everywhere he wants on his bike.”