The East Hampton boys and girls cross-country teams are wasting no time this summer, hitting Main Beach on Thursday nights at 6 to get ready for the season ahead. The sessions are run by the high school coaches Kevin Barry and Diane O’Donnell, but you don’t have to be a member of either team to join in.
“It’s open. Anybody who wants to come can run as much or as little as they want. Hopefully, with the high school team, we’ll get into a little more tempo running because this is a hard sport and it’s a lot easier when we do it with friends and teammates,” Barry said.
Their first workout, on July 9, was a three-mile run. Chase Bohnsack, a rising sophomore was the only member of the boys team ready to get going so early in the summer. A runner and a tennis player, he’s trying to maintain as many healthy habits as he can this summer.
“Eat healthy, sleep well, keep showing up every day. Work hard to improve your game in running and tennis,” he said. “It’s good for your body, it’s good for your health. I want to keep doing it to stay in shape for the season.”
On the men’s side, he was joined by Bruce Siska, his son, also named Bruce, and Joe Lombardo. The trio just started training for the Bermuda Triangle Challenge in January.
“It is a one-mile race Friday night on Front Street, a 10K Saturday morning, and a half-marathon or full marathon on Sunday morning,” said the elder Siska. “Sunday we are going to do the full marathon. It’s the 25th anniversary of this event. I’ve done this event since 2010, so 15 years.”
When asked why he goes back year after year, the answer was simple.
“It’s Bermuda in January,” he said with a smile.
“It’s a little daunting at first,” his son said of running so many miles in one weekend. “But once you kind of get into it — the scenery and everything, the people there too — it makes it all worth it. And then you get to jump into the harbor afterwards, which is the best.”
“I did it once before with them maybe five years ago now with the half-marathon on Sunday morning which I’m going to try to do again,” said Lombardo. “Today’s run was tough, but day one’s always tough.”
Other runners who are training for upcoming races will find great company at these Thursday night workouts, not just from fellow runners, but from Coaches Barry and O’Donnell who have been running together since the 1980s.
“Back then, we would run to Montauk without water, Gatorade, Gu,” said O’Donnell. “We’d think nothing of running out to Montauk for a long run for a marathon with no water, no pouches, no CamelBaks, nothing. We’d take a drink before we left and take a drink when we came back and that was that.”
Both coaches have a wealth of knowledge on everything from training regimens to sneakers and are happy to share their wisdom with the group.
“Right now I’m wearing Newtons. I really like them,” O’Donnell said. “They’re hard to get, that’s the only downside, but I like the zero drop. I’m all about that. And they’re very lightweight. They have a lot of pluses.” A zero-drop shoe has a flat sole, so there is no height difference between the heel and the toe. Most running shoes have a cushioned heel.
“I run in Hokas or Asics,” Barry said. “I need a wider toe box because my feet are widening. It happens when you get older!”
Three girls who run on the track and cross-country teams also came out to prepare for the fall season, which starts on Aug. 24.
Laura Martinez, a rising senior, is hoping to make it to the state qualifiers this year and then get to the state championships for cross-country. She says these longer workouts help her prepare for both seasons.
“Cross-country helps running in general,” she said.
Danett Gonzalez, a rising junior, also hopes to qualify for the county championship. Last cross-country season she missed it by just 30 seconds. Right now, she’s enjoying running with her friends.
“I don’t see most of my teammates outside of practice so it’s really fun getting to see them and run with them,” she said.
Madison Giraldo, a rising sophomore, is hoping to break 30 minutes in the 5K — the distance at which both cross-country teams compete. She took a break after school ended but is getting back into her daily runs.
“It’s pretty hard, but I’ve been preparing myself for the last week, so I’m in better shape than I would’ve been if I did nothing at all,” she said. “I’m not very fast. Maybe at the end of the year I can go sub-29.”
Running fast is neither a requirement for these Thursday night workouts nor for the girls cross-country team. Coach O’Donnell is just looking for people who are ready to put in the work.
“I’m looking for people who are willing to learn, willing to run, and willing to try hard. It’s a hard sport. And I tell them that all the time. We have no benchwarmers. Everybody participates,” she said. “All I’m looking for is people who are willing to challenge themselves because it’s hard, running is hard. But it’s not a complicated sport. You just have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going.”
The group meets every Thursday at 6 p.m. in the parking lot at Main Beach. Take water and a towel. They typically finish with a cooldown in the ocean.
