Passionate runners complete half marathons
On the left is Emma Sapio, crossing the finish line at the Greenwich Cup Half Marathon. On the right is Emma Church competing in a cross country race as a part of her training for the New York Half Marathon. Cori Gabaldon ’15
Cori Gabaldon ’15
Running beyond the boundaries of Convent of the Sacred Heart’s campus, juniors Emma Church and Emma Sapio completed a half marathon this spring. Both runners decided to take their passion and their skills to the next level. Emma Church ran the New York Half Marathon March 16 and Emma Sapio ran the Greenwich Cup Half Marathon April 6.
When Emma Church joined the Sacred Heart cross country team in the fall of 2013, Head Coach Mr. Brad Miller was impressed by her stamina.
“Emma Church is fully aware of herself as a runner which has played into her success as a long distance runner. She honestly just loves to go out there, run, and do her thing,” Coach Miller said.
Emma had a successful season on the team. She came in third place overall at the 5 kilometer Fairchester Athletic Associations Championship race, beating 18 competitors with a time of 20 minutes 34 seconds.
After the fall season, Emma trained for the New York Half Marathon by running 5 miles a day. She completed the 13.1 mile course in 1 hour and 29 minutes and placed second in the 12-19 age group.
“Cross country season showed me how much I love running so I decided to push myself and run a half marathon to prove to myself that I was good enough to handle such a long distance race,” Emma said.
In addition to being on Sacred Heart’s varsity field hockey team this fall, Emma Sapio ran at home to train for the annual Greenwich Cup Half Marathon.
“I ran a half marathon because I love to run, and I thought training would be a really fun challenge, too,” Emma said. “I have always wanted to run a half marathon because I think it is a great endurance.”
April 6, Emma ran the half marathon in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. She completed the 13.1 mile race in 1 hour and 40 minutes, finishing in first place for the junior women’s category.
“I think that their dedication to training for a half marathon on top of keeping up with their academics and the social life of a 17 year old is an impressive feat,” Physical Education teacher at Sacred Heart, Ms. Alexandra Holowach said. “Their commitment to running at a young age is inspiring and makes both Emma Church and Emma Sapio solid role models for other girls at Sacred Heart especially our middle school.”
– Cori Gabaldon, Staff Writer
