KIDS to WATCH : DANA BURKHOLDER

Running Mission Viejo Age 10

Three years ago, Dana Burkholder took her first steps toward becoming a champion distance runner.

Her initial steps were very slow.

Burkholder, now 10, was at first unable to run more than a half-mile at a time during practices with a local cross-country team. While other children surged up hills and sprinted the final yards, Burkholder walked much of the workouts.

But then came the first race. Burkholder did not walk--she ran. And won.

Since then, Burkholder has become one of the best runners for her age in the United States. She has won four national age group titles in track and cross-country, including the Bantam division (ages 9-10) title at last month’s National Junior Olympic Cross-Country Championships at Omaha, Neb.

Burkholder says that victory--in which she outran 175 girls her age--was the most satisfying. Although she won the first meet of the season in September, she did not win again until the national championship.

“When the going gets tough, nothing stops her,” said her mother, Maryellen. “Dana finished third at our regionals in El Centro. But at nationals, she just wasted the girl that won the regionals. . . . With her, it’s a lot of mind over matter.”

Burkholder, a fifth-grader at Newhart Elementary in Mission Viejo, wasn’t new to competitive sports when she started running. She played shortstop and pitched for an area Little League team for three years.

But running cross-country and track is Burkholder’s No. 1 priority. Her best times are 2 minutes 38 seconds for the 800 meters, and 5:12 for the 1,500. In 1989, she won a national title for the 1,500. Last spring she won national titles in the 800 and 1,500 and qualified for nationals in the high jump too.

This spring, Burkholder will compete in the 80-meter hurdles and distance events.

Asked if she has any other hobbies, Dana said:

“Nope. Track keeps you very busy.”