Faces of Xavier: Chris Chavez '11 & John Maiocco '12
Over 50,000 runners finished the TCS New York City Marathon, many of them Sons of Xavier or associated with the Xavier community. Among many others, Jose Benitez ’02, Kieran O’Neill ’01, and Jack Rosenhammer ‘08 represented the NYPD, FDNY, and military respectively with great pride—and great times. Several recent Xavier alumni ran the race, including Chris Chavez ’11, a senior at Marquette University, and John Maiocco ’12, a junior at Manhattan College. We had the opportunity to catch up with them to discuss running the marathon, their inspirations, and how their experiences at Xavier shaped their academic and extracurricular pursuits in college.
(Note: This article is abridged from a longer discussion with both Chris and John.)
John, why did you decide to run the New York City Marathon?
I ran competitively in high school for twelve seasons, and I continue to run in college as a means of staying in shape. Running the NYC Marathon has been a goal of mine since I first started running my freshman year at Xavier. I figured that I would have the most free time to train and put my best effort in during college, especially this year, so I decided to sign up and give it a go.
Chris, you’ve run the Chicago marathon before. What was it like to run in New York City, and did you have any help along the way?
Running through the five boroughs was a better experience than Chicago tenfold because of the incredible atmosphere. I strained my quad 17 miles into the race and was forced to run-walk to the finish, but I had enough people rooting and tracking me that not finishing was never an option. I called Mr. Patrick Dormer (head track coach and history teacher) to let him know why my splits were slowing down and he broke down the remainder of the race by running to Pete Cashin '11 at mile 18, where we would assess the injury. Having Mr. Dormer run alongside me for a half mile gave me an extra push to finish strong.
John, you help coach the Xavier cross-country team, and come down from the Bronx every day to make sure the athletes get their workouts in. How did it feel to run, knowing that many Xavier runners knew you were preparing for the marathon, as well as a member of the larger Xavier community?
It was really great to show the team members that you don’t have to stop running after graduation. I was proud to run as a Xavier graduate because it was at Xavier when I first developed my love of running and developed the work ethic and determination necessary to succeed. The team was really supportive of me during training. Mr. Dormer monitored my progress, and a lot of the guys would ask me about my training and would offer me support. On race day, some of the guys took the time out of their day to track me as I raced, which was an awesome feeling.
Chris, you interned for ESPN last summer and continue to be featured periodically online and on television. How did this opportunity come about?
In March, ESPN reached out to me to see if I wanted to intern for them as part of the Sports Journalism Institute, a nine-week training and internship program for women and minority college students interested in sports journalism careers. When the summer came to an end, Patrick Stiegman (VP/Editorial Director of ESPN’s Digital and Print Media) asked me to stay and board and cover the marathons for them. ESPN’s been great with allowing me to pitch stories and flesh out content across all platforms whether it’s through articles and videos. [Note: Chris can be reached on Twitter at @Chris_J_Chavez]
Chris, what is the favorite story you've produced for ESPN?
In the weeks leading up to the NYC Marathon, I spoke a lot with Meb Keflezighi and his brother Merhawi. With the help of Bonnie Ford, I took the angle of delving into the relationship between Meb and his brother who also happens to be his agent. Sitting down with Hawi and seeing him come to tears recalling the 2014 Boston Marathon victory was something special. You can find the article on ESPN's website, here.
John, what’s next?
I’ve had a couple of days to recover after the marathon, and I feel great. I’m proud I accomplished this goal of mine and I can still walk, so it’s all good! I initially was not sure if I wanted to do another marathon after this one, but I now know that I want to run another marathon somewhere at some point in the future. Maybe not within the next few months, but definitely sometime. Until then, I'm working hard at Manhattan College, finishing my history degree and having a great time with the many Xavier alumni who also attend Manhattan.