A year ago Peabody's Kevin Monteiro had no idea what was in store when he signed up for the "Take The Lake 24 Hour Ultra Marathon." The grueling race around Wakefield's Lake Quannapowitt requires enormous endurance and stamina.
Last July, the former Peabody High three-season track captain ran 106 miles in the 24-hour period to finish fourth. He had never run a marathon before, nevermind an ultra marathon.
"After 15 to 20 hours of running my body was dead," said Monteiro, a political science major who is starting his senior year at Northeastern University. "It was all I could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other and finish the race. It starts at 7 p.m. on Friday night so it's not too bad running at night, but it was very hot all day Saturday. The heat really took its toll on everybody."
Monteiro, 20, will be at the starting line again tomorrow night and says he feels ready to beat his pace and mileage from a year ago. He has set the bar high, aiming for a first place finish and 120 miles.
Now that he knows what to expect he has altered his training.
"I've done a couple of 5K and 10 K races, but the main thing is my training," said Monteiro. "The other day it was 97 degrees when I left my house for a long training run. I went out for four and a half hours to build up my endurance. It may sound funny, but getting out there helps me relax. I've had a very busy schedule lately because I took two summer classes that just ended. In a way it was difficult to find time to train, but going out for runs helped clear my mind so I could get back to the books."
Weight training the key
Monteiro started getting in top shape for the 24-hour challenge in March, slowly increasing his running and concentrating heavily on supervised weight training.
"I have a personal trainer, Janelle Nicolo, who has been a great help," said Monteiro. "Janelle and my brother Steve have been together for a long time and working out under her guidance at Body Co. in Middleton has made a huge difference. I feel so much more prepared now. "Janelle gives me different exercises to build up my body. I do one and then immediately switch to another. What it's doing is training my body to work through exhaustion."
There are three different races going on at the same time on the same course around the lake. Runners choose among marathon distance (26.2 miles), a 12-hour run, or the most grueling, a 24-hour time frame. Last year there were well over 100 entries with more than 50 in Monteiro's class.
"I chose the most difficult and met my goal last year," said Monteiro. "I was really happy with my results for a few months, and then I started thinking about doing it again. I guess by that time I had forgotten how sore every muscle in your body gets. Last year I just tried to keep going, but now I know how painful it gets. I'm hoping the weather will be cooler, maybe with some rain on Saturday. That would be ideal.
"I think my track background helps. Coach (Fernando) Braz and (Jose) Rocha were so intense; they both taught me to be disciplined. Their message always was that you can do well if you are disciplined."
Monteiro uses that discipline to go out for runs even when the temperatures look particularly uninviting, which has been the case many times this summer. He says he has a hard time finding anybody wanting to go with him for the long runs and relies on the discipline his high school coaches instilled to get out there and do it by himself.
"I hope to have one person over at the lake with me through the entire 24 hours to provide food and drinks," he said. "Last year one mistake I made was not reenergizing often enough. You absolutely have to stay hydrated, and when you're running in the heat you have to eat even when you don't feel like it. That's especially true in the second 12 hours when you really don't want to eat anything, but you have to or you won't make it. I'm well prepared and know what's in store this time."
