Science teacher Ginny Colombatto has proven her passion for science in the classroom, but what many students may not know about is her passion for running.

Since 2002, Colombatto has participated in eight Lewis & Clark half marathons, seven GO! St. Louis half marathons and one full Lewis & Clark marathon, which she completed in 2004.

She started running at the urging of her brother-in-law, who had run marathons and half marathons. 

At first, Colombatto was hesitant, but, she said, “I ran it, and I got 10th in my age group. So then I started running more competitively.” She continued, “I didn’t really do a race until, I guess it was 2002, the half marathon. But it was with my brother-in-law’s motivation and encouragement that I decided I was going to start some competitive races.”

To train for these races, Colombatto said she uses Hal Higdon’s website and follows the 12-week training program.

“You start out with about 12 miles a week, and then you work your way up to 15 miles per week if you’re doing the half [marathon].  And then if you did the full [marathon], 20 [miles] was the highest amount,” Colombatto said.

She also runs about once a week with senior Rena Black. However, Black is the only one Colombatto runs with on a regular basis because, she said, “I don’t want the commitment where I have to show up and meet someone.”

And all this training seems to have paid off for Colombatto. Although she said she is, “not fast enough to place overall,” Colombatto has set a goal for herself for each race. She aims, “to place in an age group,” in every race she participates.

Colombatto said she will continue running, “as long as [her] Achilles tendons hold up.” She explained, “I have problems with my Achilles; they get strained a lot.”

However, she remains optimistic, adding, “but there’s a new shoe out, called the Newton shoe. They’re built differently. I pronate and that means I’m a real strong heel striker and my Achilles tendons are always hurting, so I bought these new shoes called Newtons and it really has helped a lot.”

She has a few other ways to avoid the pain that comes with long distance running.

“I try to stay on people’s lawns and the Katy Trail because concrete is the worst. I have the most pain when I run on concrete, so I try to stay off of concrete as much as possible,” Colombatto said.

Colombatto’s best time for a half marathon is 1:41:04. “I got second place in my age group that year,” she said.

And although she said her time has been a little slower every year, Colombatto has managed to stay under the two hour mark for every half marathon she has run.

She added, “Every year it’s a little slower, but I’ve been able to stay under two hours, so I’ll probably stop running competitively when I get two hours or more and I’ll probably just run for fun because it’s too hard to handle when you’ve done quite well and then you tank out. So, if I ever go over two hours, I’m done, I’ll just do it for fun.”

Whether running for fun or competitively, Colombatto said her favorite part about running is, “the feeling [you get] once you go across the finish line, that you accomplished something that was rather difficult, and the endorphine rush because I really have a lot of energy after I run even though [after] the half-marathon you’re tired and after the full marathon I was ready to collapse.”

She continued, “But just the regular running, it really gives me an energy boost. I mean, I’m pretty much addicted to that energy boost I get after I run, so it’s hard to stop.”