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Fetterman: Mexican immigrant emerges on race scene 03/02/2001 
Dallas has become a race base for Agustin Hernandez. He moved here from Mexico nearly two years ago to work, train and race. He has friends in the area, and he enjoys the variety and volume of the area's race schedule.
He plans to run Saturday's Symphony Run 10K-5K, which is considered the unofficial kickoff for Dallas' spring racing season. Hernandez, 27, will be vying for the round-trip airline tickets that will be given to the overall male and female winners.
The field could have other strong international runners, including Brazil's Delmir Dos Santos and Hernandez's brother, Alfredo. Several area elite runners also could challenge.
For Hernandez, airline tickets would be a major prize. He works long, exhausting shifts as a day laborer. A friend, Jorge Rico, helped him find a place to live and has helped him get a bed, table and chairs. He and his brother have little else.
"He works whatever he can get," Rico said. "It's an adventure every day. If he could find a sponsor, he could do something. He has so much natural speed."
Rico said Hernandez's situation might sound minimal, but it is an improvement over the life he left in Guanajuato in central Mexico.
"They suffer a lot," said Rico of Hernandez's friends and family members still in Mexico. "It is even worse in Mexico."
Winning the airline tickets means Hernandez could visit his wife, who still lives in Mexico, Rico said.
Hernandez, his brother and another longtime friend and fellow runner, Noe Moreno, also plan to run other big area spring races, including the March 17 Dash Down Greenville and the March 24 Uptown Run.
"After Cowtown, the first thing we're thinking is Symphony," Rico said. "Everyone is excited. The people I talk to at Bachman Lake are talking about competing against their own times or beating one of guys in their age group. That's the sport."
Over the past couple years, Hernandez has made his presence felt in the area. He won the '99 Cowtown Marathon. He clocked a 2:16:20 finish at the Houston Marathon in '99. He won a year's supply of running shoes at the Heartbeat 5K one spring. He captured the Minyard Buddy Run 10K last May, Rico said.
"He ran better times in Mexico," Rico said. "In Dallas, he hasn't done very good times because it's hard to train after working 10 or 12 hours. And, everything here is sea level. In Mexico, it's above sea level."
Still Hernandez has been competitive. He placed 12th at the Austin Motorola Marathon in 2:19 last month.
And, if Hernandez had sponsorship, he could train and race as a professional runners, Rico said
Cowtown update
Cowtown marathon course designer Gary Stevenson completed his 50th marathon at Saturday's Cowtown, but it wasn't pretty. He said it was his second worst marathon ever.
"The marathon gods were not with me," he said.
Stevenson said he prayed he could make it to the turnaround so he wouldn't have to run directly into the wind. When he got there, the wind shifted. He became severely dehydrated and then hypothermic. He reached the finish line shaking and cramping. Officials took him straight to the medical tent where he was given an IV.
"It was blustery and sunny," Stevenson said of the conditions. Then, the sky turned black. I got hit by hail. It rained. I heard the tornado sirens. It was like being on the Edmund Fitzgerald. You didn't know what was going to hit you."
The Rock board meets
The White Rock Marathon board met Tuesday night. It decided to: Start searching for a part-time paid executive director to oversee the event; emphasize growth; add four new members: Uly Vlamides, Danya Casey, Dan Ellinor and Chuck Dannis; and formalize 11-member executive committee
Briefly...
Running enthusiast and race director Gary Stevenson started Saturday's Kathryn A. Stevenson Memorial 5K in memory of his mother, who died in December. ... Luke's Don Lucas, Cross Country Club of Dallas' Larry Martin and coach and exercise physiologist Robert Vaughan attended the city's focus group with runners Wednesday at Winfrey Point, spearheaded by the Dallas Park and Recreation Department.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 – Cross Country Club of Dallas The Loop 15K and 5K, Winfrey Point, White Rock Lake, Dallas, members free, others $5, 214-855-1511.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 – The Symphony Run 10K, 5K and 1K run-walk, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora, Dallas, 7:30 a.m., $18 Friday, $20 race day; $5 for second race, 214-821-0909.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 – Kathryn A. Stevenson Memorial 5K, Botanic Garden Conservatory, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd., Fort Worth, 8 a.m., $20, 817-238-2314.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 – Redbud Romp 5K and 1K walk, Denton Civic Center, Denton, 8:30 a.m., $16, 940-387-0859.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 – Polar Bear 5K and 1-mile, First Baptist Church of Hurst, 1801 N. Norwood, Hurst, 8:30 a.m., $15, 817-282-3628 or 817-688-1605.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 – St. Gregory Fun run 5K, 1-mile and Kiddie Dash, T.K. Gorman High School, Tyler, 8:30 a.m., $15, 903-581-0424.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 – Chiropractor Chris Creed and podiatrist Steve Cranston, injury screening and gait analysis, Swiatocha's Athletic Store, 6102 Luther Lane, Dallas, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., free, 214-890-7722. In addition, Nutritionist Janalou Phelan will answer questions about diet and exercise, and multi-sport coach Chris Phelan will answer training questions.
SUNDAY, MARCH 4 – Burleson Back to Basics 5K and Kids' 1K, Burleson Community Center, Burleson, 4 p.m., $4 members, $7 others, 817-496-3734 or 817-447-8811.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 – Luke's Locker sponsors Terry Jessup's training talk "Transitioning from building the base to speed work, Luke's Locker, 3607 Oak Lawn, Dallas, 7:15 p.m., free, 214-528-4765 ext. 121.
SATURDAY, MARCH 10 – Motes in Motion Birthday Run 5K and 1-mile, Trinity Park Pavilion, Fort Worth, 8 a.m., $15 through Saturday, $18 race week, $20 race day, 817-738-4620.
SATURDAY, MARCH 10 – Chiropractor Chris Creed and podiatrist Steve Cranston, injury screening and gait analysis, Swiatocha's Athletic Store, 6102 Luther Lane, Dallas, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., free, 214-890-7722
TUESDAY, MARCH 13 – Plano Pacers Prediction Race 5K, Cici's, Spring Creek and Custer, Plano, free, 7 p.m., 972-208-9966.
Running writer Debbie Fetterman identifies the top area road racing events of the spring season.
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THE BEST OF THE BUNCH | |
Date | Race | Start, City | Phone | |
March 3 | Symphony 10K-5K | Meyerson, Dallas | 214-821-0909 | |
Unofficial start of spring race season. Only 10K in Crosson Dannis Series. Strong sponsorship, venue and post race | |
March 17 | St. Paddy's Day Dash Down Greenville | Two Rows Brewery, Dallas | 214-821-0909 | |
Serves as USATF Southwestern Association 5K Championship. Falls on St. Patrick's Day, festive, fun race, post-race followed by parade | |
March 24 | Uptown Run 5 mile | Quadrangle, Dallas | 214-528-1290 | |
15th annual prize money plus primes draws elite fields and fast times | |
NEW EVENTS TO CONSIDER | |
April 3 | JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge | West End, Dallas | 214-340-2456 | |
3.5-mile road race, largest corporate road racing series in the world. | |
April 21 | CAREFEST European Run 3K and 6K | Old Historic District, Grapevine | 972-235-2513 | |
New race with an old name, tied into New Vintage Wine and Art Festival | |
May 19 | Elvis Run | 2727 Harwood, Dallas | 972-235-2513 | |
50s theme will be fun and festive with Elvis everywhere | |
NOTABLE NATIONAL MARATHONS | |
April 16 | Boston Marathon | Boston | 508-435-6905 | |
One of the world's most competitive and prestigious | |
April 28 | Country Music Marathon | Nashville | |
Hits historic sites of Nashville along with city's Music Row. | |
April 29 | Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon | Oklahoma City | |
Honors memory of the bombing victims, celebrates life | |
June 3 | Rock 'N' Roll Marathon | San Diego | |
One of America's fastest courses and most festive races |
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