By: Jiahao Chen
Even after so many hardships, Keira D’Amato is still breaking world records like it is nothing. Keira D’Amato is getting faster even as she gradually ages, and even her coach-someone who has known her for so long-is baffled.
Keira D’Amato was a runner until an injury forced her to retire, but in recent years, motherhood has helped her find out that she still has her running abilities even at the age of 37. She is currently a marathoner, a mother of two, and a role model.
After D’Amato found that she could still run at an extraordinary pace, she decided to run the Houston Marathon. The last record was set in the 2006 Houston Marathon, but it would soon be crushed by none other than D’Amato when she ran in January. She had crossed the finish line and broke a record with a time of 2 hours 19 minutes 12 seconds, but she still thought that she could go faster.
The Houston Marathon was only one goal D’Amato had in mind, but there are still many more to complete. One goal coming up for her after the Houston Marathon would be the world track and field championships marathon in Eugene, Ore. In addition to more upcoming goals, D’Amato has also gotten more and more attention, which she isn’t familiar with but she does a favor to the fans who want to take pictures and selfies.
Ironically, D’Amato wasn’t famous 5 years ago, she merely thought of running as a hobby. “In a way, it just feels like this is my fun thing. It’s my hobby. Some people are in book clubs. Some people collect stamps or coins. This is what I do,” D’Amato said.
Raczko, her old coach when she was in the DC Elite team, was shocked after seeing D’Amato’s capabilities. Raczko saw D’Amato’s Olympic goals being a fantasy to having them be just out of reach. “I don’t even know if she would have had the capability to do this when she was younger,” he says.
After Raczko saw her improvement, he decided to continue coaching her, and they were about to start running. Throughout the first part of her training, Raczko was met with times faster than he ever thought of, but D’Amato said he wasn’t being serious.
When the coach told her to take a 45 second break, she waited only for 43 seconds and continued to pursue her dream.