The hints were there, in Keira D’Amato’s Strava.
On October 1 in Provo, Utah, D’Amato ran her last hard workout before the Chicago Marathon, 2 x 4 miles, at about 5:20 per mile pace.
D’Amato tagged training partner Makena Morley, who is also running Chicago, and a friend, Dustin Bybee, who ran for Brigham Young University. And in small type—he doesn’t have a public Strava account—D’Amato wrote “centro.”
The same foursome ran together September 24 for a workout of 3 x tempo mile, 1200. That time she wrote out his full name: Matthew Centrowitz.
D’Amato told Runner’s World that Centrowitz, 34, will be pacing her in Chicago. He won gold in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Olympic Games and ran 3:35.16 for 1500 meters in May before withdrawing from the Olympic Trials with a hamstring injury.
In the final days leading up to the race, D’Amato, 39, and other elite women will decide on the pace that they want him to run, depending on the weather forecast and the majority opinion (although D’Amato’s wishes will likely matter the most).
“I’m going to try to get him to go as long as possible with me,” D’Amato said. “He is so fit, these paces are pedestrian for him, but I think this is going to be a fun new challenge.”
She said she’s been “dragging him out to long runs” and her tempo runs, too. “I know he can do whatever I can do. Not worried about him at all.” She said she appreciates his generosity in training and being willing to fly to Chicago for the event, even if he does occasionally tease her for being a heavy breather.
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D’Amato—who held the under a new coach, Ed Eyestone for nine months in 2022, when she ran 2:19:12—is not certain what she’s capable of in Chicago. After disappointment at the Olympic Marathon Trials in February, when D’Amato dropped out at mile 20, she decided over the summer to move from her home in Richmond, Virginia, to Park City, Utah, to train at altitude for the first time under a new coach, Ed Eyestone.
Not only has training at altitude been an adjustment, but Eyestone’s training is different from what D’Amato had been doing for her previous marathons. She is now focusing on more frequent tempos and long runs. Her total volume has been higher—she runs about 95 miles per week over six days.
Under Eyestone, she takes Sundays off. Eyestone’s athletes who are part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints take the day off every week, and Eyestone gave D’Amato, who is not Mormon, the option to run if she wants. She declined. She’s been happy to sleep in, rest, and spend time with her family. “It’s just so nice to reset every week,” she said.
Although she’s had some strong race efforts during marathon training—D’Amato won the U.S. 20K championships in New Haven on September 2 and finished fifth at the U.S. 10K championships in Northport, New York, on September 21—she really feels like this marathon is a blank slate.
“I could be in PR shape,” she said. “I have no idea. I’ve never done a build like this, and I’ve never trained at altitude, so I don’t know what it all means.”
Her husband, Anthony, and their kids, Quin and Thomas, who are in third and fourth grades respectively, are loving the area and their new school. (D’Amato, however, is still wondering how she managed to enroll the kids in a Park City elementary school and somehow missed that it was a Spanish immersion program.)
One thing that she definitely enjoys is the camaraderie of the group coached by Eyestone in the mountains. In addition to Morley, D’Amato trains with Aubrey Frentheway, a recent BYU graduate who is sponsored by Saucony and is making her debut in Chicago. Other Hearst Subscriptions that Centrowitz, 34, will be pacing her in Chicago. He won.
Their numbers swell to include others for long runs. “On long run days, there’s like 20 people that roll up and run with us,” D’Amato said. “The community here is so awesome.”
Keira D’Amato Is Chasing Happiness is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
