duathlon.com recently sat down for an interview with top American distance runner Bob Kennedy.  Bob primarily races the 3000 meters and 5000 meters on the European track circuit.  Bob has the American Record in the 3000 meters (set in 1998 - 7:30.89) and 5000 meters (1996 -12:58.21).  In setting the 5000 record, Bob was the first non-African to break 13 minutes.  He competed in the 5000 meters in the 1992 Olympics and 1996 Olympics, finishing 6th in 1996.  Bob is coached by his agent, Kim McDonald. Bob grew up in Ohio and graduated from Indiana University in 1992.  Now 28, he currently resides in Indianapolis with his wife, Melina, and 2 dogs. Below is the second part of the interview. 

 Part II:

duathlon.com: You competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, and you are preparing to qualify for the 2000 Olympics. Will you attempt to compete in the 2004 Olympics?

Bob Kennedy: I hope not. I've done this for so long at this intensity. You can only do it for so long. I don't know if I will put in the effort.

duathlon.com: Will you compete on the US road racing circuit?

Bob Kennedy: When I know I am done running on the track, I will do it for the last couple years of my career. That way I can continue to make some money and do some other things without getting a desk job.

duathlon.com: How do you feel about road races?

Bob Kennedy: To go run a 10k road race is a joke. It is a B circuit or a C circuit. The Kenyans in the US road races would get killed on the track.

duathlon.com: Will you ever run as a competitive Masters runner?

Bob Kennedy: No, definitely not.

duathlon.com: Will you ever run a marathon?

Bob Kennedy: Yes. It will be sometime after the year 2000.

duathlon.com: Could you see yourself running the marathon in the 2004 Olympics?

Bob Kennedy: I guess it depends on how it goes before them. Winning the Olympic marathon, at least in this country, is less prestigious than winning Boston or New York or London. It is certainly not as financially rewarding.

duathlon.com: Do you have an idea of how fast you can run a marathon?

Bob Kennedy: I don't. You can project and all that stuff but I think it is a whole different animal than anything I have ever experienced. I have to think I can run, I mean if Todd Williams ran 2:10, I think I have a legitimate crack at the American Record at some point, which is 2:08:48.

duathlon.com: When are you going to run the 10,000 meters?

Bob Kennedy: Next year, I promise. I would like to run one in late May, early June.

duathlon.com: Do you have a shot at the American Record of 27:20, held by Mark Nenow

Bob Kennedy: Oh yeah.

duathlon.com: Your goal would be to break it in the first race?

Bob Kennedy: Yeah. 27:20 for 10,000 meters is two 13:40's.

duathlon.com: Where will you run the 10,000m?

Bob Kennedy: I'm not going to do it at Mt. Sac and I am not going to do it at the Penn Relays. Number one, they are too early, and number two, I just don't like those places. Eugene is where I would like to do it, if we can work it out. We would need to have a 10,000m and we would need to have a rabbit. And that is the other problem - getting someone. Kim [McDonald, Bob's agent and coach] would probably have to arrange a Kenyan or two Kenyans to help me out, because we are not going to get an American athlete to go through in 13:30. I think I can actually run under 27 minutes. I don't know if I would do it the first time out. [the World Record is 26:22. 27:00 was first broken in 1995]

duathlon.com: Do you think distance running is more competitive now at the international level.

Bob Kennedy: Yeah it is. Not only is it more competitive at the top end, it is just deeper. Perfect example is this year in Rome in the 5000, I was 7^th in 13:05, and 2^nd was 13:03, and 12^th place was 13:09. And then I was 8^th with the American Record in Monaco, at 7:30. There were so many races like that this year.

duathlon.com: What would you say is your weakness in those races.

Bob Kennedy: Normally, my weakness is my leg speed over the last 150 meters. I am relatively fast, but I don't have the snap and I can't run 24 seconds for the last 200 meters. I can run 28. So I am always trying to improve that. What happens though is that guys tend to go out so hard, and I can't do that or I will just completely blow up. I can't go out in 7:38 on the way to 5000 meters right now, but I can go out in 7:45. But what happened in 1996 is I would go out and half way through the race I would be in 14^th place. By the time one lap to go came around I was in second or third. I would bide my time and keep pressure on myself and run in no-mans land and get the next group and keep moving up, where as this year I failed to do that. As soon as I lost contact it was over. That was kind of my strength, was that toughness that I was able to keep plugging away. And I would end up second or third 8 out of 10 times.

duathlon.com: What do you do now that you are in your offseason?

Bob Kennedy: The fall is the busiest time for appearances. For Nike I am going to a couple of high school cross-country meets on the west coast. One in Bend, Oregon, and then the Mt. Sac High School Cross-Country Invitational. I will be in New York for the marathon and hopefully in Chicago for the marathon. I will also probably go to a couple of running specialty stores for Nike promotions. The hard part of the appearances is that I am away from home so much already. The saving grace is that you can only do this for so long.