Evan Cepeda, a sixth-grade student at Tuskawilla middle school, finished the Central Florida Legends Marathon in DeBary in 3 hours and 28 min utes. He was the youngest par ticipant in the local race, and, to make it even more impres sive, it was Evan’s first marathon.
“It’s been a journey for him,” said Eurides Cepeda, Evan’s dad. “I’m just here as a support for him.”
“Things went beautifully,” he said. “We hydrated, took electrolytes, took gels all on schedule. We had a plan.”
Eurides Cepeda runs all of the races with his son, and they have been a dream team. But, he said, keeping up with his son can be challenging.
“His turbo boost at the end is insane,” he said.
Evan talked about training and competi tion. The pre-teen said he likes to train and race.
“It’s fun to compete,” Evan said. “And then I get better.”
Evan said training was really important to achieve his goal.
“It’s been my lifelong goal to complete a marathon,” Evan said. “I started training when I was 10.”
He’d give this advice to anyone who wanted to run a marathon, “Keep training! Never give up!”
His dad talked about how proud he was that his son did just that: trained and perse vered.
“Evan hit a wall at mile 25, and it was incredible to see him as he shattered that wall to pieces,” he said. “In the end it’s about the mental strength and resilience"
Evan agreed with his dad, “It was really hard, but I did it.”
Diane Romero-Lopez is the Treasurer/Director of West Volusia Runners (WVR), the local run club that hosts the Central Florida Legends race.
“It is really exciting to see someone so young finish a marathon,” Romero-Lopez said.
This was the sixth year of the race, and Evan is the youngest finisher.
“We have a WVR kids’ program, but it’s on an off session right now. The kids train 6-8 weeks and get to run a 5K. We get local sponsors for that run.”
Evan’s finish is unique, but local student participation is not. Many youths partici pate in the Central Florida Legends 5K or Half Marathon, and just as many volunteer to make the event great.
“We work so hard to put together a great event for the community,” Romero-Lopez said. “We have volunteers at aid stations from Deltona High School Band, University High School Swim Team, Pine Ridge Soccer, Girl Scouts; we have a lot of help and in return we donate back to those organiza tions.”
The legendary race is in its sixth year.
When looking for a race concept, a WVR member joked about hosting a Skunk Ape race, as a head-nod to Florida's unique big foot legend. The idea grew legs, and those legs put on running shoes. From that con versation the Central Florida Legends were born.
The annual Central Florida Legends races pay tribute to old Florida legends with the Fountain of Youth 5K, the Mermaid Half Marathon and the Skunk Ape Marathon.
Evan and his dad finished the Skunk Ape Marathon, which is 26.2 miles.
“People love this race,” Romero-Lopez said. “Our community is so welcoming. We have people from all over the country attend this run, and they love it.”
The run starts at Gemini Springs and uses the Spring-to-Spring trail as part of its course. Visitors and residents alike are impressed by the scenic beauty of the region.
“A lot of out-of-towners tell us how much they love being here,” Romero-Lopez said.
To learn more about the Central Florida Legends or WVR, find them on Facebook.
Evan’s journey to the finish line in Gemini Springs started in kindergarten.
Anthony Nittolo took over the cross country coaching at Eastbrook Elementary School when Evan was in 4th grade.
“In Seminole County, it’s [Cross Country] a big program. We get a lot of support from GROW and TrackShack,” he said. “Elementary Schools in Seminole have cross country before school.
He coached Evan for two years. He said Evan was such a great leader that he elevat ed the entire team.
“Evan was so fast it created a trickle down effect,” he said. “The second-fastest runner was always being pushed by Evan’s speed to do better, and this year that stu dent has taken on a leadership role.”
Even though Evan is in middle school now, his positive influence remains.
“Evan was always focused on practice,” Nittolo said
Nittolo’s program started with 30 stu dents and now has more than 70.
Keturah Hennis, the cross-country coach at Tuskawilla Middle School talked about Evan’s performance in practice.
“Evan has been super easy to teach,” she said. “He’s very coachable. He’s very hum ble. He listens to instruction.”
She said it’s been a pleasure to coach someone who’s so passionate about the sport.
Evan’s dad works with him at home too, especially while on the journey to a marathon. Training to create endurance and prevent injury is important, but his son is still a normal kid.
“You have to make it fun too,” he said. “We do a lot of different things to prepare. Cepeda said the request for a longer dis tance was a surprise.
“I did not want him to focus on long dis tances. In school, they run shorter dis tances.”
It was a challenge for Cepeda to develop a healthy training program that built the kind of endurance Evan needed for a marathon, while also building the speed he needs to compete in his cross-country team. But he wanted to support his son, so he pulled on his running shoes too, and they got to work.
“We tailor training for him. We do body checks all of the time,” his dad said. “If anything hurts, we stop.” The training is intense at times, but Cepeda said it was a time he used to bond with his son, and to keep the training fun.
“It’s 2-3 hours where all we do is bond and talk about life, and his goals, and I talk with him,” he said.
Cepeda was the captain of his cross country running team in college.
“I’ve always been interested in running," he said. “It’s my escape from the world, to be by myself with my thoughts. To get a clear picture in my head and focus on my thoughts.”
He dropped off running for a while and came back to coach his son.
“He tells me what he wants,” Cepeda said. “I’m not directing his goals.”
And Evan’s goals are lofty, he wants to be in the Olympics.
“Evan has a natural talent,” he said. “I have two other kids, and they do not have this skill.”
The current world marathon record for an 11-year-old was set in 1969 by Wesley Paul, at two hours and 50 minutes. Paul also set the world record for the 12-year-old group at three hours and 2 minutes.
Evan finished his marathon in three hours and 28 minutes, and he’s just getting started.
“This was Evans first marathon, and we now have to switch back our focus from distance to speed for cross country,” Cepeda said.
Evan said he wants to inspire kids of all ages to run.
“His passion is a reminder that it’s never too early, or too late, to lace up your shoes and chase your potential,” Eurides Cepeda said.
Evan shared his final thoughts on racing, and sharing time with his dad, “I like it. I like how we get to train and do races. It’s fun.”
