Catch him if you can (you can’t)

El Estoque Staff
May 23, 2012

Photo by Margaret Lin.
When he was in fourth grade, senior Kevin Bishop ran a mile in under seven minutes. For most kids that age, this would have been a small ego boost at best, but for Bishop, it was the first in a series of achievements that would ultimately culminate in an admission to Stanford University’s prestigious cross country program. Bishop loves the sport of distance running, and to him the appeal is simple: You do the work, you get the reward.

“There’s a direct relationship between what I put into it and what I get out in the end,” Bishop said. “There are no politics. There are no factors that are beyond my control. If I want to be fast, then I know what I have to do to make that a reality.”

And the amount of work Bishop puts into running is enormous. He regulates his food intake and sleep and runs 40 to 50 miles a week. Senior Surafael Yared, Bishopís teammate on the track team, has had several years to witness the work Bishop has put into running firsthand.

“[Bishop] is truly a student of the sport. He really studies up on his stuff. He really perfects the sport itself and takes it a lot more seriously than other people do,” Yared said. “The guy’s really dedicated. That’s what separates him.”

And in no race was Bishopís dedication more apparent than in the 3200 meter race at the El Camino League finals of his freshman year, which he calls the hardest race of his life. Bishop had been sick the week before, and he as a runner was completely unprepared for the grueling two miles he would have to endure. By lap two, because of the agonizing pain he felt, he decided to drop out of the race after the next lap. When he had finished that lap, however, he gritted his teeth and ran one more. Then he decided to run just one more. And then still one more after that. This continued until Bishop felt dead on his feet and only two laps remained. By then, there was no way Bishop was allowing himself to quit with the end so near. When he finally crossed the finish line, his mind and body were shot and long after the race was over, Bishop still felt intense nausea and experienced tunnel vision.

He ended up qualifying for CCS.

In that race, Bishop said that he overcame many mental obstacles. He believes that running takes fortitude; anyone can practice and become a good runner, but to be a good racer it takes a strong mind even more than a strong body.

“Your mettle is really, really tested. Youíre very much in your own head. Itís very easy to convince yourself, ëI canít do this,íî Bishop said. ìThereís this tendency to believe that everyone else is not feeling pain and only you are. Logic fails to function. You feel like youíre the only one suffering. You have to tell yourself, ‘This is what I have to do. Itís going to hurt like hell, but this is what I have to do.'”

Because of this, Bishop is most proud of his run at Mt. San Antonio Collegeís Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 22, 2011. He says that during that race, he overcame a succession of mental challenges to finish 11th overall for the varsity boys division at a race that featured 22,000 runners. Mt. San Antonio Collegeís three hills are legendary in the cross country world, and to Bishop, the psychological barriers he had to overcome to dominate each hill made that race the most gratifying.

Bishopís drive also transfers well into classroom. He believes having a sharp mind is conducive to running as well as to academics.

“I think athletes in general are better students because youíre doing a lot of the same things,” Bishop said. “When I identify myself I think, 1A: I”m a runner, and 1B: I”m a student. Both of those have to complement each other.”

Kirk Flatow, head coach of the track team, echoes these sentiments.

“He’s physically gifted, and mentally, really, really strong. There are a lot of people who are physically gifted, but not everyone has his ability to really work hard,” Flatow said. “The mental gifts come across in his school work and that kind of well-rounded person is pretty amazing.”

To further highlight this connection, Kevin’s greatest achievement will help him academically as well as athletically. On June 8, 2011, towards the end of his junior year, Bishop ran a blistering time of 8:59 in the 3200 meter race of the California State Meet, breaking the MVHS record.  According to Bishop, running this distance under nine minutes is a momentous accomplishment in the high school running world, with only 25 other high school runners in the country reaching the mark that year. But the time is more than just a milestone: it is the very thing that can ensure a future.

 “It’s a big carrot to hold out in front of colleges. It’s a really, really significant barrier to break. And if you do, you pretty much have your pick of what college you want to go to, and the scholarships start flowing in,” Bishop said.
According to him, it’s because of that race that he will be attending Stanford University in the fall.
However, even an acceptance into one of the most prestigious colleges in the world did not mean relaxation for Bishop. Just recently, he broke another school record, running a mile in 4:13 at the Adidas Distance Meet of Champions, taking third out of 15 runners.
To him, though, this deep running resume is only the beginning. When asked where he wanted to go with his running in the future, Bishop’s answer was instantaneous: “To the Olympics,” he said. “If you asked me if I could have nothing else in the entire world what I would want out of running, it would definitely be an Olympic gold medal. On a very basic level what I want is to enjoy running for as long as I can, and I really foresee doing it until my body will
not let me run anymore. I would like to be as good as I can possibly be for as long as I can, and hopefully one of the byproducts of that will be a trip to the Olympics. An Olympic medal would be beyond my wildest dreams.”