Elite runners talk about overcoming obstacles

Records could be broken at today’s Shelter Island 10K since the weather is shaping up to be in the mid 60s with low humidity, Dr. Frank Adipietro told a WLNG Radio audience Friday afternoon.Dr. Frank, as he’s known on the Island, is the official voice of the race. Besides calling the race as it happens and emceeing the pre-race program, he traditionally sits down for a radio interview with elite racers the day before the event.

This year it was 2014 Boston Marathon winner and 2004 Athens Olympic Silver Medalist Meb Keflezighi and 2013 Shelter Island women’s winner Katie DiCamillo.

Mr. Keflezighi is running his second successive Shelter Island 10K while this will be Ms. DiCamillo’s fourth race on the Island.

“I’m just honored to be here,” Mr. Keflezighi said.

“I love being back here on Shelter Island,” Ms. DiCamillo agreed.

Both described the atmosphere of family and friends as being important to their wanting to participate in this race, the 36th annual. And both had a lot of advice for young runners.

While running is their passion, education has to be the number one goal, they said.

Growing up in the East African country of Eritrea, Mr. Keflezighi said his father always told him that nobody could take his education away from him.

The number one priority has to be to be the best you can be in school, Ms. DiCamillo said.

Meb recently was the commencement speaker at the graduation of the class of 2015 from National University in California and compared it to his first marathon.

That was so painful that he vowed his first would be his last, although that clearly wasn’t the case. But he told the students he didn’t want that kind of pain to occur with his first commencement speech.

The man who speaks English fluently worried that he would stumble over the language. He spoke flawlessly for 18 minutes to 10,000 people, including 2,000 graduates, about how the challenges in a race mirror life’s challenges.

“One finish line is the beginning of another race,” he told them, encouraging them not to be felled by obstacles they encounter in their paths.

Ms. DiCamillo’s running career started in Garden City, New York, where she ran with her dad and brother. It continued at Providence College where she ran cross country, accumulating multiple honors.

She ran the Los Angeles Marathon this year finishing at a respectable 2:37:59 on a very hot and humid day. She was to have run her first marathon in New York City in the fall of 2012 when Superstorm Sandy resulted in cancelling the race.

You can’t control the weather or how you’re going to feel on the morning of a race, Ms. DiCamillo said.

All you can do is prepare and then ride with whatever happens and move on to the next challenge.

“You get back on your horse” and prepare for the next race, she said.

They both talked about the last stretch of the Shelter Island 10k that is largely an uphill run until they hit Fiske Field where they must make the adjustment from running on the roadway to the grassy field that takes them to the finish line.

That can make or break a runner, Dr. Frank said.

You want to take off your shoes and feel the grass, but of course you can’t, Meb said.

In addition to talking with Dr. Frank, the two runners answered questions from members of the Shelter Island School Cross Country team.

“There’s always an obstacle,” Ms. DiCamillo told the students. The most important thing they can do at this stage is support one another.

“Don’t ever give up the dream,” Meb said. And don’t be discouraged if you’re not hitting your stride in every race or practice, he said. Be disciplined and work hard, he said.

The distances each runs in any practice week will vary depending on what events are upcoming, but every day isn’t a day to try to push the distance, they told the students.

They also talked about core strength training with Ms. DiCamillo saying she does some core workouts, but doesn’t use weights. Meb does pushups and sit ups.

As for meals before a race, Ms. DeCamillo advised against changing one’s diet. Meb said he’s been pasta loading since high school and would continue to do so.

The nature of the sport involves sometimes getting injured and injuries need to be attended to even if it means skipping a race to properly recover, Meb said.

He skipped the Beijing Olympics because of injuries, he said.

Both plan to compete to make the 2016 Olympic team that will compete in Rio de Janeiro.

The pair paid homage to Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first female marathoner to win an Olympic God Medal in 1984 in Los Angeles. For the first time in several years, Ms. Benoit Samuelson won’t be on Shelter Island today as she had a previous commitment to run a race in Russia.

“You look up to the best,” Ms. DiCamillo said about Ms. Benoit Samuelson. What struck her when she met the Olympic champion was how down to earth and welcoming she is.

“She’s been a great example” and a wonderful influence, Meb said.

“I know her heart is with Shelter Island.”

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