Rod Berry, 1978, cross country, track—Berry is possibly the best distance runner Redwood ever produced. His school record of 4:12 in the mile still stands, as well as his Marin County records of 8:53 in the 2-mile and 29:13 in the 6-mile. The highlights of his four-year high school career include:

• Freshman: Named Northern California Freshman Cross Country Runner of the Year; set the world 3-mle record for boys 14 and under, and was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.”
• Sophomore: Named Northern California Sophomore Cross Country Runner of the Year and named to the All Northern California First Team. The varsity Redwood team that year won the NCS championship and was ranked #2 in the United States. Berry placed ninth in the California State Meet in the 2 mile.
• Junior: Berry was took first in the MCAL Championship meet and was named the league’s runner of the year, as well as the NCS runner of the year. He was ranked first in the nation in the 2-mile and second nationally in the 3-mile. He was named to the High School All American first team. In track, he took first at MCAL in the one mile and 2-mile, first in the 2-mile at the NCS, and second in the same event at the California State Meet. He took second place in the national high school 6-mile championship, and was ranked nationally at the following distances: 2-mile, #4; 2-mile (indoor), #2; 3-mile, #5; 6-mile, #2.
• Senior: After recovering from a season-shortening bout with mononucleosis, Berry was named to the All Northern California First Team in cross country, came in second at the National Junior Cross Country Championships, placed 10th in the World Cross Country Championships in Scotland (he was the first American across the line) and was named to the first team High School All American. In track, he took second at the state meet in the 2-mile, and later placed first in that event at the International Prep Invitational in Illinois. He was named Redwood’s Athlete of the Year.

Berry attended Stanford University on an athletic scholarship, where he lettered eight times in cross country and track and field. In Marin he is especially noted for still holding the modern course record for the Dipsea race, which he set in 1981.

Berry currently resides in Fairfax.