The 6-foot tall woman is graceful as she glides around the track - that's glide, not stride - arms locked, lead leg straight, at least one foot on the ground ...
Victoria Herazo is walking, yet she's clicking off times right around one-minute, 36-seconds per lap on the 400-meter track at Carson High School - a 6:24-mile pace most runners would be envious of.
This is simply another routine tempo workout for 41-year-old Herazo, whose resume during 13 years of competitive race walking includes 27 national championships, one American and world record and appearances at the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona and Atlanta. She holds the world and American record for the one-hour walk on a track - 13,194 meters (almost 8.2 miles), set on Dec. 6, 1992, in Santa Monica, Calif.
There's no looking back, either. Herazo still has some goals that make it seem more like she's 21 years old. She moved to Carson City over the summer to take classes at the University of Nevada try and take the step from veterinary technician to actual veterinarian. She works at Sierra Veterinary Hospital in Carson City, and yes, continues to keep up her pace as a world class race walker.
Today, Herazo is entered in the 12th annual Carson Nugget Nevada Day Classic 2-mile walk. The walk through Carson City's historical district starts at 8:15 a.m. from the corner of Curry and Telegraph streets (across Highway 395 from the Carson Nugget). The event, which also includes a 2-mile run at 8:30 and 8-K run at 8:35, is expected to draw in the vicinity of 300 participants.
"I thought it would be a good race to work out and maybe see some other walkers, and I'd like to break the course record," Herazo said.
She has been on a roll this month, having won both the women's open and masters titles at the 11th annual John Deere Health 5K USA Track and Field Race walk Championships on Oct. 14 in Kingsport, Tenn., in a time of 25:02. Before that was a wire-to-wire victory at the national one-hour championships on Oct. 1 in Boston.
Between work, school, training and competing, life is hectic both on and off the track.
"It's not easy," she said with a laugh. "I don't have much time for socializing, but I'm used to that anyway. If you're a dedicated athlete, you don't have time to go to a lot of parties.
"As far as my training, I'm lucky here that, the Sierra Veterinary Hospital gives me two-hour lunch breaks so I'm able to work out during the day."
Herazo has rebounded from her disappointment in July at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, where she finished 13th. Michele Rohl won the 20-K in a time of 1 hour, 32 minutes and 39 seconds. The time wasn't far off Herazo's own personal record of 1:35:40 set in 1995, but on that day in Sacramento, she came in at 1:45:23.
"I was so disappointed at how the Olympic Trials turned out. I didn't plan on being that far back. That was just one of the worst disappointments of my life," Herazo said.
It wasn't the first disappointment. She finished 27th in the women's 10-K at Barcelona and had high hopes of improving on that performance four years later. She was up among the top 10 in Atlanta, only to be disqualified with less than 2,000 meters to go.
There have also been injuries in the last couple of years, a broken leg in 1998 followed by an operation for a herniated disc in 1999. Still bothered by nerve damage or that herniated disc in Sacramento, Herazo received two red cards which resulted in her backing off the pace, according to long-time coach Jim Bentley.
"Any stride, when the heel strikes, the lead leg must be straight at least momentarily, otherwise she gets a red card. You get two and then the third one you're out," Bentley pointed out.
Don't discount Herazo's chances of making a trip to the 2004 Games Athens, Greece.
"Oh yeah, I told her, it's all in your head. The East bloc country, all their national records are held by women 40-and-over, and a lot of them are 50 years old. It's the same with the Russian men; the Russian men held all of the world records up until about four or five years ago and they were in their 40's, 50's," Bentley said.
regardless of age, Herazo isn't ready to hang up her shoes just yet.
"I still want to be on the national team," she said. "I enjoy being a part of the USA team. We want to show the world we are serious and that we are competitive."
