The Pace Setter - Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club

Help Wanted:NOEXPERIENCENECESSARYVolunteersneeded at thefollowingraces:Indian Ladder:July 31HMRRC Picnic:July 31Tawasentha XC 5KSeries:August 8, 15 and 2216 – The Pace SetterSEFCU 5K:September 5If interested, contactMarcia Adams,Volunteer Coordinator,at 356-2551 ormadams01@nycap.rr.comIt’s not just about running…DeGrazia Sets the Standardof Marathon Excellenceby Vince JulianoHMRRC Hall of Famer Dale Keenan won14 marathons two decades ago and is generallyregarded as the best male marathoner everfrom this upstate NY region. Keenan’s resumeincludes winning the Mohawk Hudson RiverMarathon six times while setting the courserecord 2:20:59 in 1984. Keenan also had themental fortitude to win the HMRRC WinterMarathon six times. Add in two WineglassMarathon victories in western New York andone could see why his Hall of Fame plaqueis inscribed “Marathon Master.” Keenan builtmost of his impressive resume as an open runnerbut went out in style, grinding out a closevictory at the 1995 Mohawk River Marathon,his last at age 45 in 2:35:06.As one remarkable local marathon careerwas ending, another was just getting underway.For it was just one year earlier at the 1994New York City Marathon, that a 43 year oldwoman made her marathon debut, running asolid 3:30:41 in typical anonymous fashion.17 years hence the ageless Martha DeGraziarecently completed her 70th marathon at the2011 Boston Marathon placing 3rd in her newage-group with a superb time of 3:28:29. Atage 60 her Boston Marathon time was slightlyfaster than her Boston effort the previous year,3:28:51, which was also faster that her 2009Boston posting of 3:29:39. She has now placed2nd or 3rd in her age group at this major marathona remarkable 4 times.It is said that the great athletes make thegame look easy. For most of us, finishing amarathon is a lifetime goal, and a talented fewcan run the distance competitively for severalyears before higher mileage and repetitive impactwear us down. DeGrazia is the rare exception.She has averaged 4 marathons a yearfor over 17 years while running the distancenot just to finish but to race competitively fortime. In addition to her impressive accomplishmentsat the Boston Marathon, DeGrazia hasplaced in her age group at Chicago, Houston,Philadelphia, New Orleans, Phoenix, and theMarine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC.One of her career marathon highlights waswinning her age group at the New York Citymarathon after turning 50.DeGrazia has also had similar success atthe local MHR Marathon, but she enjoys travelingto new places while experiencing differentmarathons. In recent years she and her significantpartner Ralph Feinstein have selecteda European city to visit annually, with the maincriteria being that the city offers an interestingmarathon. Her partner speaks several languagesand handles most of the logistics allowingDeGrazia to focus on what she does best, running26 miles efficiently while finishing nearthe top of her age group class. DeGrazia hasa dozen international marathons to her credit,and has placed in her division in more thanhalf of them. Along the way, she has won quitean impressive variety of hardware, with importedcrystal being her favorite.After debuting at the marathon distance inNYC, DeGrazia ran a masters personal best of3:14 at Tucson five years later at age 48 andfollowed with career best 3:13 at the BostonMarathon at age 51. The 2011 Boston Marathontime of 3:28 was her first attempt sinceturning 60.So what is the secret of her remarkable durabilityand mental toughness, which allowsher to pick up the pace in the later stages ofa marathon when everyone else is slowingdown? How is she able to recover sometimesonly hours after a grueling event and to racenearly every weekend while remaining void ofserious injury?DeGrazia will dispute any adjectives thathighlight her ability, as she insists that whatshe does is hardly worthy of distinction. Howevershe credits cross training, in particular theaerobic exercise she gets from swimming for90 minutes in the pool daily for helping hermental focus and giving her confidence andthe ability to know that she can keep goingwhen she begins to feel fatigued. Says De-Grazia “ I swim 2 miles rather regularly andI consider it similar to running in that the fullbody is involved and it takes focus to stay onpace. I swim at one speed, not fast. I think allI have is endurance, the focus and the abilityto adjust pace if I sense myself getting tired orfeeling good.”She also credits good genes, as she claimsto have inherited her mother’s high energylevel.DeGrazia prefers anonymity and oftenclaims that her pace is slower than most ofher Willow Street AC teammates. What shedoesn’t say is that she trains with a top-tierregional racing team where she is the seniormember by a generation. Team captain EmilyBryans speaks on behalf of the team when shesays “Martha is an inspiration to all of us, bothas a person and an athlete. Her marathon recordspeaks for itself and we all hope that wecan accomplish some of her success and maintainthe same kind of energy and enthusiasmthat she has.” r