The Tufts Marathon team had more than its normal share of former athletes and fitness buffs on Monday. But not everyone in a yellow jersey was a veteran runner.
Freshman Adam Santos, who finished the course in 3:42:30 (an 8:30 mile pace), spent the last few months training under Marathon team coach Don Megerle, the former swimming coach, and Miriam Nelson of the Friedman School of Nutrition, who was in charge of nutrition for the Tufts team.
"I played soccer in high school so we ran for that, but the longest we ran was three miles," Santos said. "It was nothing like this."
Santos trained with team members for the past few months, running 35 to 40 miles a week and mixing interval training with longer runs. Training in a group with the marathon team helped to keep Santos focused.
"When I go on my own, the most I can go is four or five miles," Santos said. "It's great to have other people to push you along."
The team headed out to the course Monday at 6 a.m. and waited around until 12:30 for their start time, kicking off with the second wave of runners. The race was staggered, allowing the competitive, qualified runners to lead off and the runners competing for charity to follow.
Like all the members of the Tufts team, Santos got some encouragement along the way. His brother and sister jumped in to accompany him for a few yards at Mile Nine, while his friends joined him for a few miles at the Mile 22 marker.
"The people on the sides were awesome," Santos said. "Everywhere along the way you hear 'Go Tufts!'"
The underclassman from Palos Park, Ill. shaved his hair into a mohawk for the race as part of a dare from one of his friends, a final assurance that in the sea of over 20,000 runners, Santos would make his mark.
