Article by Jean DePlacido from The Salem News. Originally published on August 5, 2009
The longest race Kevin Monteiro had ever run was five miles, but the former Peabody High three sport track star wanted to challenge himself with a longer distance.
He decided to enter an ultra-marathon, a 24-hour event called “Take The Lake” around picturesque Lake Quanipowitt in Wakefield. His goal was to run 100 miles. Not only did he exceed that mark, but he came in fourth.
“My game plan was to keep training during spring semester and at first I thought about doing the Boston Marathon, but I didn’t think I was in good enough shape,” said Monteiro, a 19-year old incoming sophomore at Clark University in Worcester where he is a government major. “I stumbled upon this race and started thinking about challenging my body. It really appealed to me.”
The 13th annual event, sponsored by the Somerville Road Runners, had 56 ultra-marathon entries, but only 49 showed up for the 7 p.m. start on a recent Friday night. Proceeds benefited Miles For Miracles program at Children’s Hospital and the Wakefield Education Foundation. When it ended 24 hours and 106 miles later, Monteiro was still going strong even though the last several miles were the hardest.
“Some people were part of a team relay, but I did it as an individual,” said Monteiro. “The last few hours I had to take 7-10 minute breaks every 6-12 miles depending on how much pain I was in. My goal was to run 100 miles and I accomplished that. Even though I have a track background, the ultra-marathon was 23 hours and 50 minutes longer than any of my high school two-mile runs. The longest race I had done before this one was the Feaster Five in Salem on Thanksgiving morning.
“I was happy just to finish, but coming in fourth was really nice,” he added. “My brother Steve told me I was in third when I had six hours left. I found out I had been in third the majority of the race, but slowed down a lot near the end. I was physically and mentally drained.”
Monteiro is working at Border Books during the summer and would go right out to run for an hour and a half after getting out of work at 5 o’clock. He tried to do 15 miles each day from the time school got out early in May, and sometimes scheduled double runs to prepare.
“I trained with a running club at school for a while, but most of the time I ran on my own,” said Monteiro. “I was so tired at night when I came back from my run I was ready for bed. It was awfully hot, and so many people were walking their dogs around the lake it got crowded. But a lot of them knew there was a race going on, and they’d move over if they saw you running.
“I really want to thank my family and friends for helping me get through the 24 hours. My family took turns, and somebody was always there for me. I couldn’t have done it without their help. I’d yell out for food or whatever I needed. At one point I was eating a peanut butter sandwich while I ran. I also had a water bottle in my hand all the time, and the race people provided Gatorade, so whenever I saw them I would gulp down a cup to be sure I stayed hydrated.”
Monteiro is recuperating from his strenuous run, but he loved the challenge of the ultra-marathon.
“I’m going to continue doing ultra marathons, and I’m considering trying triathlons next,” he said. “They are very demanding, but I really enjoy challenging myself.”
full article: http://www.salemnews.com/sports/x1896346545/Peabodys-Monteiro-breaks-100-miles-in-ultra-marathon?keyword=topstory
