Published in the DAILY RECORD of Morris County
on Sunday, August 2, 2015
DIANA D’ACHILLE
OF DENVILLE WAS READY FOR THE VERIZON RACE
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When Diana D’Achille of Denville toed the line at the
Verizon Corporate Classic earlier this month, she was quite literally on the
line. With over 4,000 runners in the
crowd on Speedwell Avenue in Morristown it is a little unusual for even fast
women runners to put themselves up front with the fast men. But D’Achille admits to being a jack rabbit
starter.
“I always go out fast,” she said. Every coach I have ever had tried to change
my style, but it never worked for me. Coaches would tell me to stay with the 2nd
fastest teammate for the first mile and then try to run negative splits from
there.”
“Every
race I ran this way ended up as a disappointment,” said D’Achille. “I like to think, ‘If it is not broken, don't
fix it’”.
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When the horn sounded at the Verizon race D’Achille
rocketed off the line and did her best to stay with the lead pack of men for as
long as she could. She never saw or
passed any other women. For awhile she
was aware of a woman behind her in the early stages but that woman fell off the
pace. D’Achille, who actually prefers
morning races, was feeling good and running hard.
“After the second mile I knew I was in a good position
and wanted to keep it,” she said. “I
really wanted to do well for my team [Verizon].
It is mind over matter that pushed me to keep the pace through the
toughest part of the course.”
D’Achille
finished in 18:17. Only Elena Rozhko of
Morristown, Rachel Sorna, and Ashley Higginson, who now runs professionally have
won the race with a faster time.
Although only 23, D’Achille is a seasoned runner. Her first race was the Rockaway Rotary’s
Summer Blast in 2002 when she was just ten.
She placed in her age division and the seeds had been
sown.
D’Achille ran cross country at Morris Knolls and lettered
all four years. She was named All County
and All Conference. In her junior year
D’Achille ran in the Meet of Champions as an
individual.
Cross country was not her only sport. She headed to the Lacrosse field in the
spring missing outdoor track although she had a taste of indoor track in the
winter when she competed in her sophomore and senior
years.
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Lacrosse and cross country were her selected sports at
Marywood University, a small Division III school in Scranton PA. D’Achille was chosen the Most Athletic Woman
of the Year at Marywood for her achievements in Lacrosse and cross country. She still holds two school records; the
fastest 5K - 18:03 and the fastest 6K –
21:41. She is perhaps most proud of helping her team to qualify
for the Nationals, a first for a Marywood cross country
team.
Post collegiate D’Achille is still hard in training. On weekends she runs on the roads, always
varying her route. During the work week
she rises at 4:30 in the morning and heads to the gym to run six to eight miles
on a treadmill. A lifting routine
follows.
“What I believe has made me faster is that I am devoting
more time for lifting and ab workouts,” said D’Achille.
Although 5K’s are her favorite distance to race, she has
not limited herself to just 5K’s. Excluding high school and college, she has competed in
over 100 races since her start in 2002. They include 10K’s, a half marathon, triathlons, a
duathlon, and several of the challenge races, like the Spartan Beast and other
obstacle races.
“Never a full marathon,” she said. “So a future marathon may be a
possibility. For the next few months a
5K race once a month is ideal for me.”
DOVER RENAISSANCE THIS
SATURDAY
The Dover Renaissance 5K is being held this Saturday
August 8th at 9:00 a.m.
Directions on how to arrive and park due to the closed Prospect Street
Bridge are on the application.
Awards are unique to this race. Each age division is based on the previous
year’s participation. A large number of
runners in a division might cause the awards to go five deep, and a smaller
number dictates fewer prizes, like only two places in the 80 to
84.
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A
calendar of USATF sanctioned events can be found at www.usatfnj.org or at www.raceforum.com
for running and tri and biathlon events.
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