RUNNING / BARBIE LUDOVISE : After Years of Obstacles, She’s Just Glad to Be Back in Training

Carol Keller could have called it quits.

She could have canceled her subscription to Runner’s World. Bronzed her spikes. Burned her Jogbra.

She could have melted her trophies into one big lump, put it on the coffee table and called it art.

All this would have been understandable, because Keller, a Laguna Beach resident, has suffered more than a fair share of setbacks during a 15-year running career.

Injuries, illnesses, a college track program turned upside down . . . When Keller looks back, the memories are not all so pretty.

Let’s take a look:

At San Diego’s Helix High, Keller joined the track team as a sophomore on the advice of her twin brother Mark, who was also a runner. Within a year, Keller was the best runner on the team. She qualified for the state meet in the two-mile and ran an impressive 10 minutes 44 seconds.

But hopes for faster times her senior year were dashed by a hamstring injury. She accepted a scholarship to Cal State Northridge, but the injury ruined her freshman year of college, too. Frustrated and depressed, Keller gained 20 pounds and lost her scholarship. But she was determined to regain her form to help Northridge win its third consecutive national team title.

When she returned to school for her sophomore year, she was fit and ready to run. Unfortunately, there were no teammates to run with.

Her coach, Chuck DeBus, had resigned under pressure and the majority of his athletes--including soon-to-be-stars Florence Griffith, Jeanette Bolden and Alice Brown--chose to spend their afternoons training with him at Long Beach City College. When it was time for a meet, the athletes would return to their Northridge uniform--and DeBus to a Northridge sweatshirt to coach unofficially--long enough to score another victory.

But Keller refused to play the game. She trained alone on the Northridge track and because of that was ostracized by DeBus.

“He told the others they weren’t allowed to talk to me--that I was a traitor,” Keller said. “He told them I was the one who turned him in.”

The irony was that Keller didn’t even know why DeBus was fired, though she had her suspicions. Last July, DeBus was suspended from coaching for life by The Athletics Congress for allegedly supplying athletes with anabolic steroids.

“He felt he had to control people psychologically,” Keller said. “I remember (half-miler) Rose Monday saying, ‘Without him, I am nothing.’ It was like brainwashing.”

And Keller wanted none of it. With the help of then-men’s assistant Don Stramentz, now the head coach, Keller gained All-American status her junior year by winning the NCAA Division II 3,000-meter final in 1983.

A year later, she was aiming for the Olympic Trials, but a mysterious virus--later diagnosed as Epstein’s Barr--canceled her training plans. Feeling down, she went Down Under for a three-month solo adventure in Australia and New Zealand.

She returned with new motivation. By 1986, she was in the best shape of her life. She ran career bests for 5,000 (16:02) and 10,000 (33:26). A 26:27 8,000 in October told her she was ready to break 33 minutes for the 10K, then a world- class time.

Instead, she broke down physically. A foot injury kept her in rehabilitation for months without much success. Finally, she had surgery.

In 1988, she started running again, but a hip injury foiled her plans. This time, she was out more than a year.

Now, she’s back on the roads once more. At 31, she’s older than most of her competitive peers, but that isn’t stopping her. Her sights are on the 1992 Olympic Trials at New Orleans.

“If anything, I know I’m the most experienced person out there in injuries,” Keller said, laughing. “For 15 years’ worth of running, I didn’t get a whole lot of time in.”

So she’s trying to make use of whatever injury-free time she gets. Last Saturday, Keller won the Corona del Mar Scenic 5K. Though her time of 17:21 was far from her best, she wasn’t complaining. She knows any running is better than none at all.

What keeps her motivated?

“I guess it’s just having been there before,” Keller said. “Being in shape, it’s a great feeling--there’s no substitute for it. I figure as long as I’m able to, I’ll stick with it. And if you stick with it, why not try to do the best you can?”

Diane Haney, 29, of Laguna Hills was second to Keller in 18:35, and Lisa Kothe, 30, of Ft. Myers Beach, Fla., was third in 18:40. John Koningh, 34, of Irvine won the men’s race (14:53). He was followed by former Santa Ana Valley High School standout Jimmy Rodriguez (15:21) and Jan Friedli, 24, of Costa Mesa (15:37).

Readers with information on Orange County runners or running events may write Barbie Ludovise at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, 92626 or call 966-5847. Race Schedule:

Saturday:

Seventh El Segundo Main Street Run 10K and 5K. Starts 8 a.m. at the corner of El Segundo Blvd. and Richmond St., El Segundo. Information: (213) 322- 1220.

Sunday:

Father’s Day 10K and 5K. Venice Beach, 8 a.m. Information: (213) 827-2366.

Centerpoint Mall Father’s Day 10K. Oxnard, 8 a.m. Information: (805) 483- 3849.

Run for Pride 5K and 10K. Griffith Park. 8 a.m. Information: (213) 851- 7373.

Thursday:

Paramount Ranch Cross-Country 2- and 3-Mile Grand Prix. Paramount Ranch, Agoura, 6:30 p.m. Information: (818) 992-6219.