Mike Tosto

Q: When did you begin running and why?
I ran a few 5Ks with my dad when I was 10 years old after he trained for and ran the Charlottesville Ten Miler, but didn’t do any running after that for a long time. In the spring of my senior year at college, I was looking for a way to get some more exercise and started running around campus with a few friends. I did my first 10K the next fall, and the following spring I trained for the Charlottesville Ten Miler, which is my favorite race and one I still try to run every year. A year and a half later, I ran my first marathon at Marine Corps.

Q: How did you find out about DCRR and when did you join?
I joined DCRR in 2011 after checking out a few local running groups, looking for some company on weekend long runs. I was living further into VA at the time, and had never run in DC before, so I loved all of the new places to run at SLR.

Q: What are you training for right now?
Cherry Blossom was my goal race this spring, so right now I’m taking it relatively easy for while, before I start training in June for the 2015 Chicago Marathon.

Q: What is the toughest run or race you’ve ever participated in?
One that sticks out in my memory was a training run in the heat of summer a few years back. We were doing the Cathedral-Clintons route and I planned to add a few extra miles on the Mall at the end. Less than half way through I was feeling unusually drained and could tell something was off. By the time I got to Memorial Bridge I was so exhausted and dehydrated I had to stop, lie down on the bridge benches, and walk back to Iwo Jima.

Q: What’s your favorite part about being a DCRR member?
All of the weekly group runs—I could run practically all of my miles with other club members!

Q: What’s your favorite route in the area?
Ross Drive is my favorite SLR route. On Ross Drive itself, you can almost forget you’re in the middle of a city!

Q: What’s the most important lesson running has taught you?
Adapting goals to fit the situation. Just because I could run a certain pace last month or last year, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true today. I may be faster and I may be slower, but either way you can set a goal that will be both challenging and achievable.

Q: What race day traditions do you have?
I like to have a bowl of potato gnocchi the night before a marathon. I’ve done that before each of my last 2 PRs, so I think that’s a tradition I’ll continue.

Q: What’s your proudest running moment?
I ran a Boston qualifying marathon last fall, while five years ago this was so far beyond me that it wasn’t even something I considered a realistic possibility. I only just barely made the BQ cutoff though, so I don’t know yet if I’ll get into Boston 2016. Either way, I couldn’t be happier with the result.

Q: What’s your life like outside of running?
I’m a mechanical engineer working on aerospace structures, and my wife Christina and I live near Clarendon. I like to ski in the winter, and stay indoors (except for running) in the summer.

Q: What is one thing you wouldn’t run without?
My unnecessarily large collection of running shoes!