by John Welch

This feature is a continuation of the Front of the Pack article in the November 2003 issue of Runner Triathlete News. To get all the details on Randy Reina, pick up a copy of the October issue of Runner Triathlete News. Subscribe to RTN today!

If Randy Reina of San Antonio wanted to say, "Been there, done that," you could definitely believe him! Reina, 43, has high school, college, national, and international competitive experience at both track and cross country, and has coached at the college and national level since 1999. Reina has even added cross training to his athletic repertoire and has done a few triathlons to increase his fitness potential and overall longevity.

Reina could say a great deal about himself, but he is one of the last individuals you'll ever find to sing his own praises. Reina lets his results speak for him, and they speak loudly in volumes of accomplishments.

Reina captured the 10,000-meter championship for the SWC, won the Sports Festival 10K at both Baton Rouge and Oklahoma City and was a member of the World Cross Country Team in 1985 and 1986. Reina's personal best times are rivaled by few runners, and are also proof of his commitment to excel. They include the marathon in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 10,000-meters in 28:21, 5,000- meters in 13:38, 2-miles in 8:36, 1,500-meters in 3:47 and 800- meters in 1:52.

But Reina is far more than just a runner. As a coach for the UTSA Roadrunners from 1999-2002, Reina led the team to its first conference title. As a coach for U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team, Reina has spurred his charges to improve their times in the 3,000-meter cross country event.

"Randy certainly encourages others to work hard as well, which is, of course, the only way to improve in running," said U.S. Modern Pentathlon member Jeremie Perry of Killeen. "Randy has a very laid back presentation and a very intense competitive spirit underneath. I think this makes him an ideal training partner and coach, because he constantly provides reassurance while always pushing you to run faster."

Past champions like Reina's friend Robert Yara of San Antonio, who now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, were able to wax positively about Reina's courage and tenacity.

Said Yara: "Randy is very tough. That's one of the things I admired about him when I first ran into him at some of the big national races (mostly in California). We'd be up against the cream of the crop and I would stick to my guns and run my pace. But not Randy. He would go out with the front horses. He'd win some and lose some, but he was always aggressive and the top horses knew he was to be reckoned with. And they knew he would not fall apart much or be a DNF casualty."

Yara continued: "One of the races that comes to mind is the Dome Run 10K in Houston, which used to bring in the top runners (Americans, Africans, all of them). On a hot, humid, sticky summer morning in Houston, Randy went out at 4:15 for the first mile, and behind him was Sam Sitonik, Arturo Barrios, Ed Eyestone and other top horses. Randy made them hurt and eventually beat all of them. This was not luck as it was against lots of top runners, not just one or two who may have had a bad race, and it was not the last time either. This was not just in short races as witnessed when he ran the 2:14:30 at Houston Marathon. If he hadn't run so aggressively he may have run in the 2:11 or 2:12 range. This is hard to do in Houston weather. When Randy is focused, he is an animal on the roads."