This profile of Louis Serafini originally appeared in our March/April 2016 magazine issue.

Hailing from Niskayuna, NY (HS class of ‘09), Louis Serafini, despite measuring 5’8” on a good day,  has come up big wherever he has toed the line. At his hometown high school he set indoor and outdoor records in the 800, 1600, mile, 3000, and 3200. At Boston College (‘13), he captained the cross-country team and was a part of the squad that captured the 4xmile school record.  Now on the USATF-NE scene, Serafini claimed the 5K and 10K championships, overall GPS crown, and runner of the year honors.

Although he is not a full-time runner, he is around running full-time. For the last three years, he’s worked forty hours a week at Heartbreak Hill Running Company and helped his boss Dan Fitzgerald coach nearly 500 Boston Marathon charity runners. That work includes leading weekly club runs and long runs. He even goes so far as to write workouts for some club members and friends. Of Serafini, Fitzgerald says, “Being self-coached, working full time, and racing at such a high level is very difficult. In his racing, he embodies what I want my team, The Heartbreakers, to be at every ability level: he races smart, tough, and has fun doing it. He inspires the team and makes such a positive impact on all of the runners he touches. I’m so proud of what Lou has accomplished.”

As for training, Serafini does most of his runs solo, but every once in a while he’ll run with his roommate David Melly, who just so happened to run at Cornell (4:06 mile; sub 9:00 steeple).  About his volume (see below), Serafini says, “I did my first 100 mile week in March of 2015 and just realized how well my body responds.” That’s led to mileage routinely north of 120 mpw. Don’t worry, though, post-run he’ll occasionally indulge in eggs (morning) or a burger and beer (night).   Ω

To read more from our May/June 2016 issue, click here.

To read from our brand new current issue, click here.