Alfredo Vigueras Catching Up to Goals : He Leaves Mexico in Effort to Be Among the World’s Best Runners

Alfredo Vigueras stood on the powder blue track at UC Irvine late last Tuesday afternoon, trying to understand the question.

Although Vigueras, 23, came to the United States from Mexico a little less than four years ago, he still requires an interpreter when conversations are complex.

Vigueras was asked about his goals. His answer came without hesitation.

“He says he’d like to conquer all obstacles so he can live a happier, better life,” said interpreter Richard Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican-born runner who trains with Vigueras. “He says his greatest obstacle, right now, is English.”

It would seem the common immigrant story. And, in many ways, it is.

But for Vigueras, born in Hidalgo, a rural town about an hour’s drive west of Mexico City, the desire to come to the United States had little to do with getting an education or gaining employment.

It had to do with running.

According to Vigueras’ close friend, Donnie Sumner, Vigueras had heard that much money could be made in road racing in the United States. He heard the stories of appearance money given to top runners, including countrymen Olympians Arturo Barrios and Rudolfo Gomez.

Though Vigueras didn’t have the speed or strength of Barrios or Gomez, he wished to be one of the best. Many times, he sneaked under the fence of the government-funded track stadium near his home to join the top runners in training.

After a while, they started opening the gate for him.

Not long after that, Vigueras decided to leave Mexico. He said he boarded a northbound bus, intending to visit a friend in a city in northern Mexico. When the stop came, Vigueras stayed on board. He said he crossed the border into the United States without problem.

He settled in Fontana, where he met Sumner, a volunteer with the Southern California Roadrunners running club. Vigueras asked Sumner, who speaks fluent Spanish, to coach him.

“I asked him what his times were,” Sumner said. “They were real good, about 14:50 for a 5K. I thought, well, if that’s true, he’s out of my ballpark. I told him I’d pass him over to my brother, Bill.”

Bill Sumner, who coaches the boys’ track and cross-country teams at Corona del Mar High School, was skeptical at first. At 5-feet 5-inches and 165-pounds, Vigueras hardly looked like a well-conditioned runner. The Sumners asked him if he would run an 8K race in Newport Beach.

Said Donnie: “I really felt bad about taking him (to the race). I really didn’t believe he could run. I kept saying, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ He said, ‘Yes, yes.’ ”

When the gun went off, Vigueras went out with the leaders. Five miles later, he finished--only 20 yards behind the winner, Art Cendejas. It was an impressive performance to say the least.

Since that race, Vigueras, who lives in Santa Ana, has come to be one of Orange County’s top road racers. Last Sunday, he finished 15th in 1:08:02 at the America’s Finest City Half-Marathon at San Diego.

It hasn’t been easy. Vigueras, awaiting naturalization after filing for amnesty in May, works up to 50 hours a week as a shipping/receiving employee in a computer parts factory in Tustin. Before that, he spent a year pushing ice cream carts through Santa Ana neighborhoods. For that, he was paid $10 per day.

Last spring, Vigueras enrolled at Orange Coast College. Though he worked all day and attended independent study classes at night, Vigueras still managed to compete on the Pirates’ track team. At the Orange Empire Conference championships in May, Vigueras won the 10,000 meters and finished second in the 5,000.

“He’s real good,” said Gordie Fitzel, OCC coach. “He could go sub-14 (in the 5,000), and he could definitely run in the low 29s for the 10,000.”

Vigueras, who runs for Active Five running club during the of-season, has best times of 14:24 for the 5K and 30:21 for the 10K. Now a trim 132 pounds, he’s improving rapidly.

Wednesday night, he attended his first English class, one he’ll have to attend four nights a week to meet requirements for amnesty.

Speaking English, he said, is his top priority. Gaining a solid work position--he said he hopes to become a physical education teacher and a track coach--is another.

And once he accomplishes that, well . . .

“He says he’d like to go back to visit Mexico,” Rodriguez interprets. “He would like to go back and train in the high altitude of Mexico City.”

Joey Gomez of Fullerton defended his title at the Marina Hills 8K Run Sunday at Laguna Niguel. Gomez, a former standout at Valencia High School, won the very close race in 24:15.

Gomez was followed by Lindsey Brown (24:17). Former UC Irvine standout Ricky Martinez (24:47) finished fifth.

In the women’s division, Sylvia Mosqueda, the 1988 NCAA champion at 10,000 meters, cruised to victory in 26:08. Kathleen Smith of Orange was a distant second (27:03) but outran former San Diego State star Monica Joyce, third in 27:53.

Earl Towner of Laguna Beach was the first Orange County finisher in Saturday’s Mule Run Ultra 50K at Bishop.

Towner, 38, finished seventh among an estimated 300, covering the hilly loop course in 4 hours 23 minutes 25 seconds. It was only his second attempt at an ultra-distance race.

The Mule Run--named for Mule Mountain, the final, last-gasp steep climb on the 31.1-mile course--starts at 4,500-foot elevation and climbs to 8,200 feet before the finish. Race conditions were harsh, with mid-day temperatures reaching 102 degrees.

Race winner Alfredo Rosas of Torrance finished in 3:45:57 to shatter the course record of 4:01 set in 1985 by Gary Walecke of Crowley Lakes. Rosas, 27, is a former All-American at Kansas State.

Other county finishers were Ralph West of Anaheim Hills (4:50:44), Maurie Bousquet of Capistrano Beach (4:58.37), Kent Street of El Toro (4:59.33) and Martin Foltz of Mission Viejo (4:59:43).

Laura Knebel of Trabuco Canyon was the first Orange County woman to finish. Knebel, 30, finished 75th overall (seventh woman) in 5:41. “It was really quite easy actually,” Knebel said. “I trained real hard for this one, but I was going with the attitude that I just wanted to finish. Then around (the 28th mile), just over Mule Mountain, I looked at my watch and said, ‘Wow! This is great.’ ”

Other county women’s finishers were Margaret Neville of Capistrano Beach (5:53:23), Judy Milke of Anaheim Hills (6:01), Olga Ginez of Laguna Beach (6:05:32) and Meg Stewart of Irvine (7:01).

If you’re the mountain goat type, the Mt. Baldy 8 Mile Trail Run may be for you.

The run, in its 23rd year, begins at 9 a.m. Monday at the base of the Mt. Baldy ski lifts--elevation 6,000 feet--in the San Bernardino Mountains. Though the course’s first mile runs on a smooth fire road, it quickly turns into a switchback trail that zig-zags up to the summit, an elevation of 10,064 feet.

After finishing, competitors may ride the ski lift down or run to the bottom if they’d like.

Costa Mesa’s Nancy Baird, a four-time winner of the Palm Springs Tram Road Challenge (a 6K race that climbs almost 2,000 feet), is one of the top entrants.

For information, call race director Roger Rudd at 981-7487.

The Time Machine Track Club of Mission Viejo and Diamond Bar is beginning its fifth cross-country season this week.

Time Machine, affiliated with The Athletics Congress, is open to all interested youths ages 6-17. The club, which competes in weekend meets around the area, will send a group of top performers to national meets at Tulsa, Okla., Nov. 26, and at Reno, Dec. 10.

The club will sponsor its first cross-country meet, The Time Machine Invitational, Oct. 9 at Saddleback College. There will also be a 5K, open to all.

For information, call Vern Smith at 859-4273 or 951-7669.