Bobby Curtis (3rd, South)

Hometown: Louisville, KY
High School: St. Xavier High School
Year of Graduation: 2003

Early in the season, Kentucky's Bobby Curtis looked virtually unbeatable. Consistently running times in the low- or sub-15:00 range, Curtis beat everyone he raced. He took home titles in two major national meets in September - San Francisco's Great Race of the Great Bay and Charlotte's Great American Cross Country Festival. And then, in October, Curtis proved that he wasn't invincible when he came down with a cold. At first Curtis ignored the symptoms, but they worsened, becoming a sinus infection. He was forced to miss several days of school and training. And though Curtis claimed to be feeling under the weather during several meets in late October and early November, his performances hardly suffered. He ran 14:41 for 5k at the Metro Meet of Champions October 20, and set a Kentucky State Meet record of 15:06 November 3 (though he had run 14:58 on the same course earlier in the season).

Curtis' one and only defeat of the season came at the Foot Locker South Regional, where he finished third (14:52) behind Bobby Lockhart (14:43) and Matt Debole (14:49). Curtis shrugged off his third-place finish after the race. "I haven't raced in a while, so I just chilled," Curtis told DyeStat's Steve Underwood. "I mean, I raced hard and everything, but I had been sick and just to qualify is a lot of stress off me." And Curtis is right. When he stands on the starting line at the Foot Locker Cross Country National Finals December 8, his third-place regional finish won't matter. What will matter is that he's there and he has the ability to challenge any of the best high school runners in the country on any given day.

Other Notes:
... Is 5'11" and weighs approximately 140 pounds... Reportedly keeps two journals. In one he records his workouts, in the other he records his diet and how it affects his performance... Curtis' father passed away when Bobby was seven. His mother Barbara raised Trista and Bobby on her own... Curtis works part-time at Fleet Feet Louisville... Won the boys' freshman race at the 1999 Foot Locker South Regional [results]...

Bobby Curtis runs with the pack at the 2001 Foot Locker South Regional. (Photos by Brian J. Myers @PhotoRun, click to enlarge)

In the News:
(8/5/99
Ailing Curtis breaks state record, leads Tigers to AAA title [results] (11/4/01)
Curtis' meet record sparks St. Xavier title (11/4/01)
Kentucky State Meet preview (11/2/01)
Curtis not up to par but still smokes field, runs 14:41 5k (10/21/01)
St. Xavier's Curtis - weary or not - is among the nation's best (10/21/01)
Wins Lexington Catholic Championships (10/6/01)
Bobby Curtis runs toward success (9/01)
Wins Great American XC Festival in fastest time of the day - 15:06 (9/22/01)
Gets course record at Kentucky's Trinity Invitational (9/15/01)
Is DyeStat's Nike Athlete of the Week (9/13/01)
Wins Great Race of the Great Bay with fastest time of the day - 15:30 (9/8/01)
Curtis leaves 'em behind in Tiger Run (8/26/01)
Curtis pulls off stunner at Nike Indoor | Lockhart edged at Nike (3/11/01)