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Cross Country
Adelphi Panthers Take on NYC's Toughest 26.2

Cross country/track and field coaching staff and graduate assistant compete in NYC Marathon

 
 

 
Adelphi had good representation in the NYC Marathon.
  

Nov. 4, 2008

Garden City, N.Y. - Head coach Adam Siepiola, assistant coach Katie DiPietro '05 and graduate student Matt Dispensa `09 each competed in the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 2. It was the first for Dispensa, but Siepiola and DiPietro were no strangers to the event. Their experience carried them through while the rookie soaked up everything the distance and environment had to offer.

At 9:40am, Adam Siepiola, Katie DiPietro and Matt Dispensa, along with 39,000 runners, embarked on the 26.2 mile tour of New York City. Siepiola, who has competed in two NYC marathons, finished 89th overall with a personal best of 2:36:14. "I hadn't run the race since 2005 and I forgot how much fun it was to be a part of. I had a great time running it and I am pretty happy with how close I got to my goal of 2:35. I felt great for the first 24 miles then the wheels kind of feel off, but I enjoyed the race." Since his marathon debut back in 2005, he has cut 21 minutes from his time. To date he has competed in seven marathons.

DiPietro had a great day as well finishing 2,158 overall and clocking in at 3:14:25, a personal best as well. No stranger to the distance, this was Katie's sixth marathon, having run Boston twice and NYC four times. "My marathon debut was 4:18:39, and with each race, I've taken off a lot of time. All of my training just really came together for me this year and I have the Women's Team to thank for that. I'm lucky that I get to train with them almost every day. They help me push myself to much higher levels than I would be able to do alone. They are 99% of the reason why I've been able to cut so much time off over the past four years". DiPietro plans to focus on the half-marathon for a while to lower her personal best before running another marathon.

In Dispensa's first ever marathon, he placed 1,137 with a time of 3:01:59. "It wasn't the time I had in mind, but what's important is that I finished and got to experience first hand the awesome feeling of completing 26.2 miles." After a week or two off, Matt will return to the track and begin training for indoor and outdoor track. "It's my last season to run as a collegiate athlete and I'm excited to see how my marathon training will help me in the 5k and 10k".