Post your favorite Bob Kennedy memories here

No he wasnt sick he just retired the link below is from the Indianapolis Star and explains the situation for those who dont know

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060121/SPORTS/601210465&SearchID=73233278095097

I am an Indianapolis area High School Runner and i bought my first serious pair of running shoes from The Running Company which Kennedy owns and learned of him that way. Kennedy ran from the heart which is the most important thing for any professional athlete in my opinion.

My favorite memory of him was listening to him talk at the Indiana High School XC State Championship in 2003 season. He spoke of the nike ad he did which simple read:

If you race like a Kenyon and train like a Kenyon. You might run like a guy from Indiana.

He may not have had the charisma of Pre but he left quite an impression on me

If you race like a Kenyon and train like a Kenyon.....

Would that be a Jim Kenyon or a Jennifer Kenyon or some other Kenyon??

Tommy2Nuts wrote:

If you race like a Kenyon and train like a Kenyon.....

Would that be a Jim Kenyon or a Jennifer Kenyon or some other Kenyon??

I laughed.

No. I didn't.

Go back to spouting your usual racist crap.

My 2 favorite Kennedy stories are more personal ones but here they are.

The first was the 1996 Olympics. We drove out to Atlanta and scalped tickets to just about every track event. One day (it might have been the 5k prelim) we were sitting next to these people whose son is a distance runner, Bob Kennedy. They seemed a bit surprised with how impressed we were with their son. They had extra tickets for the 5k final but the tickets were a bit pricey so we turned down the opportunity to sit next to his parents for the final. The final was pretty electric.

The other memory was from England in 2003. I was running the 10k trying to get an Olympic qualifier and there is Bob Kennedy on the side of the track cheering for me as I came around each lap. I never thought I'd see the day 7 years ago.

For a long time, I've said/joked that Bob Kennedy is the only runner I won't interview (ha ha not that we do interviews for this site anyway) because he's the one runner I really put up on a pedestal, but there is some truth to it. Most of the current crop of Americans are younger than me which might have something to do with it, but I have the most respect for Kennedy's career.

That '01 race where he dismantled Goucher was a post-graduate seminar on how an aerobic guy can break someone w/superior speed in a championship final. Pre-planned surges- all those who complain about sit-and-kickers having unfair advantage should study this race.

surgin' general wrote:

That '01 race where he dismantled Goucher was a post-graduate seminar on how an aerobic guy can break someone w/superior speed in a championship final. Pre-planned surges- all those who complain about sit-and-kickers having unfair advantage should study this race.

I think that might have been my favorite kennedy race as well. A true exhibition.

I must admit, like weldon, mr. kennedy (see, i can't even call him by first name) is the only US distance runner i've ever been able to put on a pedestal. most other guys who are/were winning US champs and such, i just looked at as guys i ran with, never guys who i looked up to. Not so with mr. kennedy, he's always been the one american who i wanted to emulate.

the '01 race was prior to adam and I developing a fairly decent friendship, but it wouldn't have mattered, you just couldn't help but root for the guy who had more balls than anyone in the field and put himself out there for so many laps, just daring people to try to stay with the surges. all the "true" track fans were just going nuts that day.

Probably my most prized memory is the only time i had the pleasure to run with him, when he won senior bowl. rogers and swanson led the first two miles, and there was bob, tucked in on nolan, and i was tucked in on nick. I just remember feeling like the coolest guy in school, 'cuz i was running right next to bob kennedy for a couple of miles. he probably thought i was kinda weird since i kept looking to my left, kinda in awe. I'll cherish that memory forever, even if he won and i bombed :)

i'll truly miss him.

dude-

The Time I Almost Saw a Bunch Of HS Kids Crush Kennedy to Death

At USATF in Indy in '97 I somehow managed to be on staff, even though I was a 19 year old scrub walkon at Iowa State, for the week with Kennedy and Williams high school camp. After Bob won the 5000 he came over to the area on the backstretch where all the campers were. He stood with his back to the stands in order to have a picture taken with the HS kids in the background. They were all pressing against the railing to get into the picture. Where they were standing in the first row was maybe 4 or 5 feet off the ground. I was standing a few rows behind the kids when I started to notice that they were starting to really lean forward, and then really quickly the railing they were pressing against was gone and a bunch of them were on the ground. Kennedy jumped out of the way and no one was really hurt, but it was a scary moment.

once had the chance to talk with him for a while:

told me the story of coming through the 5k in 7:44 through 3k and how badly he hurt, he told it in such a way as though he was still feeling the pain yrs later

another one was how he just attacked the gran prix races: one where he went through 800 in 1:57-1:58 and was at the back of the pack

guy was so, so tough- just look at his low moments 2000 OT and the 2003 5k race he was hurting so bad;

I only saw Kennedy run one time and that was at the 2004 US XC champs in indy. He completely dominated the 12k and with his home town crowd it made for a pretty cool sight.

wejo wrote:

The other memory was from England in 2003. I was running the 10k trying to get an Olympic qualifier and there is Bob Kennedy on the side of the track cheering for me as I came around each lap. I never thought I'd see the day 7 years ago.

.

I was in this race as well and went up and shook Bob's hand at the end. Growing up as a kid I totally worshiped Bob, the way he was always willing to get in there and mix it up with the Africans. I got to meet wejo too that day so all in all it was a good evening. Ran a huge PB as well and then had a date with this super hot chick. What an evening...

Being that RunLikeBob is my Letsrun.com screen name you might assume that I am a huge Bob Kennedy fan. I have had the chance, living close to Indy, to talk to him and run with him on more than one occasion.

His approach to running has always been inspiring. He told me that when he was running professionally, everything he did he would ask hime self "Will this make me a better runner?". Weither it was going an extra two miles or staying away from the burger and fries. He was so focused, and it showed in his results. If more American elites focused like this and had the right talent, they would be under 13 for 5k.

His approach to racing was so business like. He said he was always thinking during a race. Before the gun sounded in every race, he would repeat this catch phrase a few times to himself, "Eye on the ball, eye on the ball." Meaning, stay thoughtful of your prerace plan, don't worry about prize money or shoe contracts, just how to beat your competitors.

Bob himself has said his favorite and most satisifing race was the 2001 USA Champs 5k. He was injured for the 2000 trials, and people thought he didn't have it in him anymore. One of Bob's great gifts was to know the strengths of his competitors. He told me that in a 13:30-13:40 race Goucher would have a chance of outkicking him, but if it was a 13:15-13:25 type race, he would win every time. So, he made the race aerobically like a 13:05 race by throwing in 60 quarters every other lap. Bob's competiveness and abilities converged with his awesome focus to always place the highest that he could.

Kennedy was especially inspiring to me in that in my sophmore year of highschool, i contracted a nerve virus that stopped my track season dead in its tracks, and forced me to get very out of shape. His comeback that year for the 2004 olympics inspired me to come back and train hard again, even after a terrible junior cross country season. My junior year in track and especially this cross country season, i moved up to one of top 5 runners in my state, and am running for a top 10 NCAA program next fall. His comback was what inspired me, so Bob will always remain my favorite athlete, in any sport.

He didn't have a Prefontaine type of charisma, and wasn't brash or cocky. He is incredibly confident when you talk to him, but not cocky. In races, his body appears very relaxed, but when you look at his eyes you can tell there is a fire burning. I call it a "relaxed tenacity", something I try to emulate. Thanks for a great career Bob, and we wish you the best of luck in the future.

Some of Bob's great moments in pictures.

The Last was the 1992 Olympics. The early days.

Here is 1996 Olympic Trials

Bob Kennedy taking the lead and taking on the world at the 1997 World Championships.

1997 USA Outdoor Champs, Kennedy dominates the field.

Despite just being in a car crash, the out of shape Bob Kennedy tries a courageous "shell shock" tactic at the 2000 Olympic trials.

An angered Bob after failing to make the 2000 Olympic team despite his 5 year dominance of the 5k.

At the Indiana Intercollegiates during his senior year, Bob went by me during the first 1k. I thought "when will I ever have a chance to run next to an Olympian?", so I surged and ran the whole first km side by side with him. When we went through the 1k in 3:00, he immediately surged for 400m and gapped the rest of the pack by 20-30m. Remarkably, after the surge, he turned around and waited for us to catch back up with him. He did this at every km for the rest of the race, surging, and then waiting. It was a nice workout for him. He eventually let one of his teammates win (Hughes??).