Prep Cross country: Lahodny challenges the distance

Tim Graham

Thursday, Aug. 27, 1998 | 11:14 a.m.

On the race course, Chaz LaHodny is used to being out in front.

In life, however, she constantly has been forced to make up ground.

The Clark High freshman is known as one of the top runners for her age in the U.S. She has won three national titles, two in cross country and another in the 3,000 meters.

And although LaHodny has yet to compete at the high school level, she is considered a threat this fall to stop Green Valley's Abby Miller from winning her third state title.

"She's beaten the best in the nation," her father, Larry LaHodny, said. "She's already running NCAA Division I-A times."

Her personal best in cross country is 17 minutes, 3 seconds. She also has run the 400 meters in 59.1 seconds, the 800 meters in 2:16, the 1,500 meters in 4:39 and the 3,000 meters in 10:21.

But Chaz LaHodny's life wasn't always on the fast track.

As a child she and her older sister, Nikki, shuttled back and forth between their mother's flop-house accommodations and foster homes in Texas.

"Before, life was tough," Chaz LaHodny said softly. "I was going to different places, different houses. It was really frustrating."

The sisters landed at the Southern Nevada Children's Home in Boulder City. Once there, the now-defunct home intended to separate the girls. The LaHodnys then stepped in and adopted them both.

Chaz LaHodny was 10 years old at the time, and her life finally appeared in order. But when she enrolled in the fifth grade, it was discovered she couldn't even read on a first-grade level. An auditory dysfunction, coupled with her nomadic existence, left her far behind her peers.

It didn't take long for LaHodny to catch up.

She was introduced to running after her adoption. Her new parents are active runners and own The Running Store in Henderson. The couple also is in the process of adopting Karen Halto, another freshman on the Clark squad.

"Chaz sort of tagged along with her older sister and another foster child we had, and before too long she was beating all of them," Larry LaHodny said. "It turned out she was mightily good at it.

"Running developed a competitive streak and that translated to her schoolwork. She still has to work harder than most, but she's made considerable progress."

She now is an honor roll student, demonstrating a desire to keep pace no matter what she does.

"She says she doesn't like to run behind," Clark coach Paul Zwintscher said. "She likes to be in front. I don't have to coax her to go faster. With her, in fact, I actually have to work on her slowing down the first mile so she doesn't run herself into the ground."

When it comes to analyzing Chaz LaHodny's athletic ability, dad can't point to anything in particular that makes her so talented.

"Nothing stands out," he said. "She's fairly strong, she's a muscular girl. She's not a skinny Minnie like other girls who run. She's built more like a miler."

Chaz LaHodny admits she prefers track over cross country. But as long as there's a finish line, she'll be ready when the starter's gun goes off.

"I'm going to be running forever," she said.