When I first heard about Peter Kirk, I was warned that this guy was fast. The word came from Chris Samley, a runner who was winning local races outright. Chris said, "Peter used to smoke two packs and day but this guy is fast. When he gets into shape, this guy is gonna surprise a lot of people."

Peter was thirty-seven then and just getting back into running. He had been all state at John F Kennedy High School with PRs of 4:18 for the mile and 9:18 for two miles. After school he went straight into the work force, no more training, in fact, no more running for more than ten years. He partied for too many years before he saw the light.

He met his wife-to-be, Helen, and soon, in 1989, they got married. She comes from a running family. Her father, Ralph Wadsworth, and brother Ian are in the DC Hash House Harriers where Ralph is a Grand Master. It was Helen who first encouraged him to get back into running and even ran with him at first. Soon he was too fast to run with her. He found it hard to run as slowly as she was running.

Peter would love to train with other fast runners. From time to time he has trained with an elite bunch of Montgomery County Road Runners known as the Big Dogs. They are a group of runners that formed in 1992 and use twice weekly track workouts to build speed. The workouts are tough track intervals running as many as thirteen miles, designed to make racing seem like time off.

With three children now (Ian 7, Edward 4, and William 11 months), getting to the workouts is difficult for him. Most days he trains at lunch time by himself. That takes real discipline to run hard, precise workouts by yourself. Still, anyone who can give up cigarettes completely and transform himself into an elite runner has strong willpower.

In his late thirties, as a sub-master's runner, Peter flourished, running 5Ks in the 15:30 to 16:00 range and 10Ks in the 32:00 to 33:00 range. He really prefers the shorter distances from the mile through the 8K. Yet, at thirty-nine he did hold the single age Maryland state record, racing Pike's Peek in 32:24. He has only ventured past ten miles once, running a disappointing 73:30 at the Philadelphia Half Marathon. "I just ran out of gas past ten miles," he told me. His training miles are quality but he rarely runs more than fifty miles a week. "I have no desire to run a marathon," he said when asked about futures races.

Upon turning forty he ran at the last Mobil Master's Invitational Mile in 1997, finishing in 4:32. The following month he beat all the top runners in the region to finish fourth at the prestigious Shamrock 8K in 25:53. That race is the unofficial 8K championship for most of the nation where the world's best master's runners compete. It has been home to at least two world records (Nick Rose, 23:13 master's world best, and Grete Waitz, 25:03 open world best).

Two months later in May he set the master's record at the Ferndale-Linthicum 5K in 15:18. In 1998 with all the top master's runners gunning for him and the big prize money, he defended his title with a single age (41) state record 15:29. I asked Peter if he thought about a sub 15:00 for the 5K. He winced a little and replied, "I think if I could find a little more time to train . . . it's possible." That said, he told me he had to go because his wife and kids were waiting for him.

As with many elite runners, Peter is as interested in talking about fellow runners' accomplishments as he is his own. There is not a tougher competitor than Peter Kirk. Yet when the race is over his first words are, "How was your race?"

As with many other elite runners, area clubs vie for his services. He has been a member of the DC Road Runners and still remains a GNAT and a Montgomery County Road Runner. He also runs for General Electric in track meets and relays races around the country including the Penn Relays last month. He will be racing at Cherry Blossom and at Army but if you want him on your winning team, it is best to speak up early.