Running / Elliott Teaford : Political Controversy a Roadblock in South African Derrick May’s Career

Derrick May is having a troublesome year trying to compete against the best distance runners in the world, but it has little to do with putting one foot in front of the other.

May, a 33-year-old Newport Beach resident, was the first runner to win the 10,000 and 5,000 meters in the Big Sky Conference meet. He accomplished that in 1984 as a senior at Nevada-Reno.

After graduating in 1985, May turned his attention to road racing and posted a personal best of 2:11 in a 1987 marathon in Houston.

But since moving to Orange County from Reno in February, May’s racing has been put in limbo.

May is from Durban, South Africa, and therein lies the problem.

South Africa and its citizens are banned from competing internationally by the International Olympic Committee and by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, the governing body of track and field.

Other African nations refuse to compete against South Africans in events not sanctioned by the IOC or the IAAF.

Such was the case when May tried to run the Rotterdam Marathon last April.

He was all set to go to the Netherlands to compete, but at the last minute his invitation was, as May put it, “yanked.”

A number of Ethiopian runners were set to run and race officials, not wanting the Africans to withdraw in protest, decided May could not run.

It was too late to find another world-class marathon in which May could try to improve on his best time.

The Ethiopians again posed a hurdle for May, in his preparation for the Chicago marathon on Oct. 30. May said if the Africans ran in Chicago, race officials would not allow him to run.

But May learned Thursday that the Ethiopians will not compete and that he will be welcome. Though that’s been settled, all the negotiating has been frustrating for May, who makes his living as a professional runner.

May has been a national class distance runner for a number of years, having competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. track and field meet four times and the cross-country championships twice while running for Nevada-Reno.

He won the Big Sky Conference 10,000 title four consecutive seasons with a best of 28 minutes 38 seconds as a senior in 1984. His 5,000 best is 14:00.

But in order to further his career, May needs to compete against the best in the world, many of whom are Africans.

“I have a TAC (The Athletics Congress, the governing body for track and field in the United States) card,” May said. “I’ve been a permanent resident for nine years. I have a green card.”

“It’s totally wrong,” he said of the Rotterdam and Chicago situations. “I’ve been here nine years. It’s not like I came here for five minutes just to run. It’s been really tough. I’m at an important stage in my training for Chicago. If I (couldn’t) run at Chicago, I (would have had) to run at Columbus (Ohio) on Nov. 13.”

May’s wife, Kristen, is a U.S. citizen (they met at Nevada-Reno), and he said he might apply for U.S. citizenship, which will end the trouble.

In the meantime, May, who left Reno in search of more temperate climate in which to train, has been making quite an impact at local races.

May and former UC Irvine runner John Koningh tied for first at the Coto de Caza 12-kilometer race three weeks ago, and he finished second to Koningh at the Corona del Mar Scenic 5K earlier this summer.

May will be one of the favorites to win the America’s Finest City half marathon Sunday at San Diego.

“I’ve run a lot of local races lately,” May said. “You can run marathons in San Diego and Houston and Pittsburgh, but as soon as you want to move up to the next step you run into a brick wall.

“I have Kenyan friends, and they think it’s ridiculous. They want to run against anyone whether it’s a guy from Mars or South Africa or anywhere.”

The Corona del Mar High School cross-country team will sponsor a reunion party and 5K fun run at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Corona del Mar State Beach. The event is open to all Sea King cross-country runners past, present and future and their guests. For information, call 759-8155.

Four Huntington Beach girls combined for a national age-group championship in the 4 x 100-meter relay two weeks ago. Melissa Bucknam, Lehua Simmons, Kerry O’Bric and Kelly Marshall outran 15 other teams of 9- and 10-year-olds to win the event at the AAU Junior Nationals at Wichita State University. The girls, who run for the Huntington Beach-based Pegasus Track and Field Club, ran 59.09 seconds for the victory.

Stuart Calderwood, track and cross-country coach at Laguna Beach High School, has been named assistant cross-country coach at Orange Coast College. Calderwood, 30, a former UC Irvine track team member, will be primarily responsible for the men’s program at OCC. He will continue to coach part time at Laguna Beach.

This week’s race schedule:

Saturday: Tetrick Trail 8-Mile Race. Griffith Park (near pony rides). Starts at 7:30 a.m. No pre-entry. Call (213) 667-3031.

Sunday: North Orange County YMCA Fullerton 5 and 10K. Fullerton High School. 5K at 7 a.m. 10K at 7:30 a.m. For more information call 879-9622.

America’s Finest City Half Marathon. Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego. (Buses to starting line load at Balboa Park). Registration at San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. No race day registration. Call (619) 297-3901 for information.

Tom Proctor 5 and 10K. West Hollywood Park. Both races start at 8 a.m. For more information call (213) 854-7471.