FASTEST KID SPEEDS HIS WAY TO THE TOP
Scott’s Valley eighth-grader Jeremy Kain shattered previous mile record for 12-year-olds by 6.2 seconds
SCOTTS VALLEY » Jeremy Kain is fast, if running the fastest mile in the world out of all 12-yearolds is considered fast.
Jeremy, a rising eighth-grader at Scotts Valley Middle School, recently beat the world record at the Los Gatos Track and Field All- Comer meet at Los Gatos High, clocking in at 4 minutes, 36.8 seconds, earning him second in the race and an unofficial world record for 12-yearolds. The record is unofficial because the mile is not measured by the metric system.
The race for the record started at a middle school meet on May 5, when Jeremy ran a 4-minute, 57-second mile.
After the race, his father told him that he was close to world record time in the mile, previously held by Jonah Gorevic, of New York, at 4 minutes, 43 seconds.
“After I ran the 4:57, I knew I wanted to beat the record — I planted the seed in my mind and said I was going to beat it,” Jeremy said.
“He’s the type of kid where when he says he is going to do something, he does it,” said his
father, Peter Kain. “I just step back and let him do his thing.”
Although Jeremy said the secret to his most recent success was his accidental mismatching socks, he draws a lot of inspiration from his family — with good reason. His mother was on the U. S. national team for cycling and mountain biking and his father is a world champion triathlete. He is most inspired by his sister, Jessica, an All-American cross- country runner going into her junior year at Scotts Valley High.
“My sister has always been an inspiration to me. I loved watching her run,” Jeremy said. “It motivated me to be better and to train harder.”
“He started racing my times and I knew I had to step up my game,” Jessica said. “It’s a healthy competition; it really helps when you have a sibling who wants it as much as you do.”
Although Jessica was at a leadership camp when Jeremy beat the record on July 13, he called her after the race, crying with joy.
Jeremy’s achievement drew a crowd, including many friends from Kain Performance — the triathlon and multi- sport training team his parents run. This is where Jeremy and his sister started running as early as age three.
“We never pushed them into running or triathlons, we always wanted them to make their own decisions,” Peter Kain said. “Because if you don’t actually want to do something, you won’t do well and you won’t be happy doing it either.”
In addition to his school cross country team, Jeremy trains with the Los Gatos Track Club. Coaches Willie Harmatz and Stephen Aguirre said Jeremy inspires other runners on their team to improve themselves.
“His mental toughness inspires the other runners,” Aguirre said. “That’s what really sets him apart.”
Jeremy has often been voted MVP, but his parents and coaches are proud to say that he has been voted either “Most Inspirational” or “Best Sportsmanship” on every team he has been a part of — which says a lot, since he also plays baseball, soccer and basketball.
“He does all of these different sports, and we want him to,” said his mother, Shari Kain. “We want him to explore, to find a balance socially, academically and athletically, not let him be burned out just running.”
Good thing Jeremy has naturally good form, according to Harmatz — while his baseball team was training for the Little League All- Stars, he only had time to run once a week. Leading up to the race, he started running four to five days a week.
Bellarmine College Preparatory School graduate Dylan Doblar was surprised to learn how little Jeremy trained. Doblar and Bellarmine rising-senior Alex Scales paced Jeremy in his race.
“Going forward, the most important thing for him is to run for himself and for the sake of running,” said Doblar, who will attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology for track. “As soon as you start to run for external goals, it takes a lot out of the experience.”
“I wanted to make this the most memorable experience of his life,” Scales said. “Or, at least his track career. I hope it motivates him to keep pushing and going.”
Now, Jeremy hopes to break the world record for the 1500 meters at the Junior Olympics in Kansas next week, assuming he beats a virus by then. If not, he will be just as happy to do it at the Los Gatos High School track in August.
“The sky’s the limit for Jeremy,” Harmatz said. “We’re raising student-athletes here, so I can’t wait to see where he goes not only as a runner, but as a person. He’s an all-around great kid.”