Heil Has No Time to Worry About Anything but Records

Diane Heil insists she isn’t growing old too fast. In fact, she’s getting fast just growing older.

Heil, a 41-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita resident, was a member of the sprint medley relay team that broke the U.S. record in the women’s 35-39 age-group division (4 minutes 40.1 seconds) at the USTAF-sponsored Southern California Striders Meet at Long Beach State last May. The event starts with a 400-meter race, then a pair of 200 runs followed by a 800.

The relay, which also included Lisa Kealy of Trabuco Canyon and Debbie Barraza and Jeananne James of San Juan Capistrano, broke the previous record by 20 seconds, even though Heil and Barraza already have crept past age 40.

Heil also held the U.S. 40-44 age-group record in the 800 meters (2:20.05) until it was broken in June, and is going for another 40-49 age-group record in the 3,200 relay later this month at the USTAF national championships in Orlando.

That relay team will also include Marie Murphy of Thousand Oaks, who broke Heil’s record in the 800, and San Ramon’s Rose Monday, who will turn 40 next week and has run a personal-best 2:00.2 over 800 meters.

“Three of the four fastest American women over 40 will be on that relay,” said Mark Cleary, who coaches the team through the SoCal Track Club, which he founded three years ago.

Heil originally made a name for herself during her high school days in Illinois, when she won a sexual discrimination lawsuit in 1973 against the state high school association, which banned her from competing with the boys’ cross-country team.

“There were no girls’ teams back then, so my coach told me to train with the boys” Heil said. “I was just trying to get points for our boys’ team, but the Illinois High School Association said I was just trying to cause trouble.”

The lawsuit was filed by the parent of a teammate, who also happened to be a law professor at the University of Illinois, and set a precedent for what eventually became Title IX, which requires schools that accept public funds to implement separate but equally funded teams for all non-contact sports.

“The news was all over the place,” she said. “The ruling had a huge impact in our area.”

MORE SOCAL TRACK CLUB

When it comes to running, the SoCal Track Club doesn’t miss a step.

Nearly all Southern California-based running clubs focus on road racing, but the 88 members that make up SoCal include everything from sprinters to steeplechasers. Some members live just up the road from the club’s training headquarters at Trabuco Hills High School, while others live out of state and meet up with the club at USTAF-sponsored track meets around the country.

“I saw there were no clubs that catered to track and field,” said Cleary, who lives in Rancho Santa Margarita. “Most tend to be road racing clubs. I saw a lot of clubs that did speed work once a week, but didn’t hit all the fundamentals, like weight training and diet.”

Members keep detailed logs of their training and most of their off-track running is done off-road in the hills above Mission Viejo. Cleary even has the runners document how many miles they’ve accumulated on their shoes and expects them to be replaced every few months.

“Good shoes and soft running surfaces are very important to training,” Cleary said. “Once they get to 400 miles, we look to replace the shoes. Six months is too long to have a pair of shoes.”

Cleary graduated from Garden Grove High in 1976 and his coaching resume includes two years at Mission Viejo High, where he led the girls’ cross-country team to the state finals in 1997 and 1998. Cleary, who will join Long Beach State as an assistant cross-country coach this fall, admits it can be difficult attracting members.

“There’s money in road racing, but not in track,” he said. “Athletes will jump off the track and get into road racing to make money. You can’t keep your sharpness on that schedule.”

It costs $80 to join SoCal and there is a $50 renewal fee each year. The cost covers training, uniforms and monthly newsletters. For information on joining the club call (949) 589-0242.

SRI CHINMOY

Huntington Beach resident Edward Kelley continues to lead the 3,100-mile Sri Chinmoy marathon in Jamaica, N.Y. and expects to finish today. The race, which is the longest certified footrace in the world, began June 20 and must be completed by Tuesday.

Kelley maintains a lead of 76 miles on second-place Aleksandar Arsic of Yugoslavia. Kelley has run more than 19,000 miles this decade.