Big River Feature Interview: Kyle Rood

Big River Running Company co-owner Ben Rosario is now writing cross country and track articles for St. Louis Scoop Magazine. You can read his articles in the magazine as well. Ben caught up with Kyle this summer as he was putting in some base miles before his freshman year at the University of Missouri.

Watch Kyle's 1600 victory HERE.

Watch Kyle's 800 victory HERE.

Do you know that kid? The one you went to high school with who was a great student, an unbelievable athlete and just a really nice person. The kid who you were proud to say, “I know him.” Meet Fort Zumwalt South senior Kyle Rood. He's that kid.

Rood, a 4.0 student and headed to the University of Missouri next fall, had been All-State in cross country and track as a junior and had won the State cross country meet as a senior. During his senior track campaign he had broken the school record in the 1600 meters and had won four events at his conference championships. Still though, there was one big weekend that awaited Rood in Jefferson City at the end of May at the State Track and Field Championships before he could call his high school running career complete.

Rood qualified for the meet in four events, a rare feat for a distance runner and even rarer was the fact that he was the favorite to win each of those events. Despite being the talk of the Missouri high school running community heading into the meet Rood said he avoided the pressure the week of the race.

“My main strategy was to block everyone out,” Rood said. “I didn't look at any of the forums or anything like that so I could just focus and treat it like any other meet.”

First up for Rood on day one of the two-day meet was his favorite individual event, the 1600 meter run. Earlier in the season he had run an outstanding time of 4 minutes, 14 seconds to set his school record and he had done it leading the entire way. He employed the same tactic at State.

“That was the strategy all along,” Rood said. “I knew from talking to my friends in other districts that [Gateway senior] Jared Green was a kicker and [ Normandy junior] Darwin Price was a kicker so I knew I wanted to make it fast.”

Make it fast he did, with an opening lap of 61 seconds and a halfway split of 2:06 . Rood stuck to his pre-race plan and continued to lead all the way to the finish as he crossed the line in 4:12 , good for another school record and his first step toward history. Rood said he was pleased with the win but would have liked to run under 4:10 .

“If it wasn't such a big race I might have pushed harder on the third lap,” Rood said. “I just had it in the back of my head that I needed to save something to make sure I could finish strong.”

Thanks to an hour rain delay, Rood had a little extra time to recover from his 1600 victory before lining up for race number two of his big weekend. The 800 meters figured in some ways to be his toughest challenge because in such a short race anything can happen. For Rood, anything did happen. He got a slow start and found himself stuck in the middle of the 16-runner pack. Coming down the homestretch he drifted into lane four to try and get back up to the front but was once again denied and forced to stay in the outside as they rounded the turn before entering the backstretch with 300 meters to go. It wasn't until 150 meters to go that he was finally able to get out of trouble and find a clear lane to run. He made up most of the ground on Normandy 's Price, but was unable to make up that final meter as they hit the line.

“My coach said it was the worst fundamental race he had ever seen me run but it was the most courageous,” Rood said. “When it was over it was actually a relief because then I didn't feel like people were looking at me to win all four races anymore.”

The ultimate team player, when talking to Rood it is his coach and his Fort Zumwalt teammates that are often the un-prompted topics of conversation. Rood talked about the Zumwalt distance runners and the special bond they have with their coach.

“We still joke around with him and stuff but when it's time to get serious we know when that time is,” Rood said. “We never want to disappoint him.”

They rarely did. Rood and teammates Pat Cole, Brandon Funderburk and Ryan Moore have run together since they were freshmen and all four were a part of back-to-back State cross country Team Titles for the Bulldogs. At the State Track Meet there was really only one thing left for the foursome to accomplish and that was a Championship in the 4 x 800 meter relay.

For Rood, the relay was what they had been working for all year. The hard work paid off as the Bulldog quartet won the race in 7:49 , nearly setting a school record in the process. Rood anchored the squad and powered down the homestretch for the victory, his sweetest of the year and one he was able to share with his best friends.

For four years we worked so hard,” Rood said. “We'd be at school in the morning running and lifting weights before class. They're my family, they're my brothers and I'll keep in touch with them for the rest of my life.”

Cole explained the legacy they hope to leave at Zumwalt South for the younger runners.

“I hope they look at us as four guys that were putting in the hard work every day we were here. I hope they look at us as role models and that because of us they know what it takes to be successful.”

After learning about the emotion that he pored into the relay it is easy to understand why Rood may not have gone into his last event with the same vigor that his opponents had grown so accustomed to over the last four years. He still finished third in that event, the 3200 meter run, and garnered his fourth All-State performance of the weekend.

Now a new world awaits this All-American kid from St. Peters . Rood will begin classes at Mizzou this fall and professed a love for math and especially calculus, a subject he likes to talk about with his dad who he claims is a “calculus nerd.” As of right now though, he is leaning toward majoring in journalism and has an interest in creative writing. He'll also run cross country and track so perhaps he can re-write the record books for the Tigers while he's at it.

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