Two Secrets of Chief Spook Michael Hayden

ILLUSTRATION BY JOE CIARDIELLO FOR USN&WR

His job title should be warning enough not to mess with him. But when it comes to pro-football betting and running, be especially wary of CIA Director Michael Hayden. As you would expect of the nation's top spook, the Air Force general has a few tricks up the sleeve of his well-pressed dress blue uniform. Let's start with the simple issue of running. Aides say he's a jogger who likes to clear his mind with a solitary 5-mile run around Langley. But those three pairs of Adidas Supernovas he keeps around should tell you something: He's a past Pittsburgh marathoner who is known to sneak in a few miles on the treadmill with his wife, Jeanine. "Whatever good it does for the body, it does much more for the mind," says Hayden, who changes into a T-shirt, sneaks, and shorts for a jog about three or four times a week. He was even the first spy chief to run in the agency's annual 5K.

As for betting in the office pool, fellow spooks shouldn't test his football knowledge, either. His grade-school football coach at Pittsburgh's St. Peter's? Steelers owner Dan Rooney—which explains the Steelers helmet signed by all Super Bowl Xl winners on his bookcase. Hayden nearly won last year's Scripps-Howard Celebrity Super Bowl Poll. The prognosticator saw the Colts beating Da Bears 27-14. The score: Indianapolis 29, Chicago 17.