In the Running : UCLA’s Hecox and Bartholomew Will Compete Today for NCAA Title

Years after they stalked each other on cross-country courses as high school runners and then became friends as freshmen at UCLA, Karen Hecox and Beth Bartholomew are running together in the race of their lives.

Hecox, a junior, and Bartholomew, a senior, will compete in the NCAA championship at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., today at 11 a.m. Each has a good shot at winning and becoming UCLA’s first national champion in the sport.

Despite showing talent in high school, neither broke into the nation’s elite group of college distance runners until this season. Hecox won the NCAA District 8 championship race at Woodland, Wash., on Nov. 13 and Bartholomew finished second to qualify for the NCAA championship race.

Reaching the top level in the sport has been a long, painful process for both.

Hecox’s talent for running was discovered nine years ago in West Covina when she entered her junior high school’s mile-long “turkey trot” race to win a turkey. Two years and two turkeys later, South Hills High coaches had noticed and were anticipating the arrival of their new star.

Even though Hecox showed up for cross-country practice her freshman year at South Hills without running shoes and with a broken arm she had suffered while playing softball, she won the first race she entered.

Two years later, she won the State cross-country championship.

Since then, injuries have plagued her. The most persistent was a leg problem that began during her senior year at South Hills. She visited different doctors and physical therapists, but the problem kept recurring.

It forced her to sit out all of the 1991 season.

Finally, she was told that the root of her injury was the way she planted her feet when she ran, a problem common with many runners. This can be corrected with custom shoe inserts, and she was fitted for a pair.

But she soon discovered that the inserts had been adjusted incorrectly and she suffered strains in both legs and had to redshirt her junior year in track.

Once the inserts were corrected, Hecox suddenly found herself injury-free for the first time since high school. She surprised the field at the Aztec Invitational in September by placing second behind Megan Flowers of top-ranked Arkansas. It was Hecox’s best showing in a college invitational until she won the Stanford Invitational the next month.

Hecox then made history when she became the first Bruin woman to win the Pacific 10 Conference championship on Oct. 30 at Palo Alto. She also broke the meet record time by one second, completing the 5,000-meter course in 16:43.

Hecox continued to improve, winning the District 8 meet with a personal-best time of 16:41.7.

Another reason why Hecox’s improvement this season has been so drastic is that she has committed herself to long-distance running.

Hecox was an outstanding long- and middle-distance runner in high school. In track, she was a four-time Southern Section champion in the 3,200 meters, and was State champion in the event in 1988. She also was a three-time Southern Section champion in the 1,600 meters, from 1988-1990.

At UCLA, she placed fourth at the Pac-10 meet in the 1,500 in 1991 and 1992.

Many middle-distance runners, intimidated by the mileage required in training, are averse to distance running. Hecox was no exception. But UCLA coaches saw that Hecox had a propensity for endurance. This, along with her speed, made her a candidate to become an elite distance runner.

Finally, Hecox saw their point. She has learned to accept her fate.

“In my heart maybe I’m not, but in my body, I’m a cross-country runner,” she said.

Similarly, it took Bartholomew a while to come around to this point of view.

“I’ve always thought of myself as a middle-distance runner and now I’ve got it in my head that I can run long distance,” Bartholomew said.

Last season, Bartholomew qualified for the NCAA championship in the 3,000 meters. The year before, she placed third in the 1,500 at the Pac-10 meet.

But Bartholomew, who placed fifth in the State cross-country meet as a senior at Fremont High in Sunnyvale, Calif., in 1989, was treading between the two worlds of long and middle distance without finding too much success in either. She finally realized her potential in longer distances and has increased her mileage in cross-country workouts over the past two seasons.

Last season, she was second on the team behind Hecox in every race except for the NCAA District 8 meet, in which she beat Hecox, placed ninth and qualified for the NCAA championships. Hecox was 10th in the race and did not qualify for the NCAA meet.

This season, Bartholomew has not run as strongly as Hecox. At the Pac-10 meet, Bartholomew stayed close to the leaders throughout the race before dropping away near the end and finishing fourth. But at the NCAA District 8 meet, Bartholomew stayed with Hecox to the end.

“It takes a little bit longer to mature as a long-distance runner, so part of this is just natural growth,” UCLA Coach Bob Larsen said.

Bartholomew also has learned to deal with pressure. During her senior year at Fremont, she became sick and had trouble regaining her strength after she donated blood two weeks before the State track meet. While ill, she realized that she wasn’t enjoying running because she was doing it for the wrong reasons.

“No one ever really put the pressures on me except for myself,” she said. “I’m just not the type of person to do things totally for myself. Everything I did was for my coaches and for my parents.”

Bartholomew was on the brink of quitting the sport when she turned to religion to help her sort out her feelings. She credits her faith with helping her stay happy and on track.

What’s more, Hecox and Bartholomew support each other on and off the cross-country course. Because both combine middle-distance speed with endurance, it makes them excellent training partners.

“A lot of times you’ll find athletes who are blessed with one or the other,” Larsen said. “Since both of them have those same characteristics, they can do the same workouts and both profit from it.”

They also have become close friends, which is a bit ironic considering they once glared at each other during State cross-country meets in high school.

“I had this picture that she was ‘stuck up’ in my head,” Bartholomew said.

But they hit it off when they finally are introduced and eventually were roommates for two years at UCLA.

Both said that they are glad that they were going to NCAA meet together this year. Both are considered underdogs--Bartholomew placed 52nd last year and Hecox is making her first appearance--but are expecting to run with the leaders. Two of the favored runners are Flowers, who remains the only runner to beat Hecox this season, and defending NCAA champion Carole Zajac of second-ranked Villanova.

The most important factor for Hecox and Bartholomew will be staying with the leaders as they sprint the opening quarter-mile before battling for position on their way up the first hill.

But in Larsen’s guarded optimism, it is “not impossible” that Hecox or Bartholomew will come home a champion.