Gabe Durante was on North Haven’s boys’ outdoor track team as a freshman last spring, although he wasn’t sure where he fit in best. This year as a sophomore, however, Gabe went out for cross country and found himself a home as one of the club’s distance runners. Now, Gabe is running the distance events for the Indians’ track squad this spring and he’s seeing a great deal of success.

“During the captain’s practice, I was keeping up with the varsity kids. During trials to get in the varsity heat, I was No. 6 on the team. I realized with distance running, I found my niche as I never lost my varsity spot and kept improving from there,” says Gabe of his sophomore cross country season. “It was kind of scary as a freshman. I was struggling and didn’t know where I was going. After my freshman year, I was seriously thinking about quitting, but I wanted to do cross country and distance. I did well and went to states, so I continued in indoor and I keep improving every season.”

Outdoor track Head Coach Steve Celmer says Gabe has burst onto the scene as a distance runner this season. Gabe has set plenty of personal-record (PR) times, while taking first place in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. In fact, Gabe set a PR of 10:17.69 in the 3,200 at the Middletown Invitational on May 7 to qualify him for states in the event.

“The biggest thing with Gabe is his massive improvement. He’s a talent that, quite frankly, we didn’t think we had,” says Coach Celmer, whose team is 11-0. “He is the type of kid that works hard. Last year, it was trying to find what he’s best at and we were barking up the wrong tree. Distance is the type of event where that type of attribute pays off. He’s going under 11 minutes in the two-mile and under five minutes in the mile. As a sophomore, the most striking thing is where he came from. Never in our wildest dreams would you think he’d be able to put up those kinds of times.”

Gabe says he’s taken quite a liking to distance running through the past few months. Although some may find exerting oneself for such a long stretch too taxing, Gabe feels that it actually makes him relax.

“It clears my mind and, overall, I want to get better at the sport. It motivates me to get better each and every year,” says Gabe. “Distance running is something I found I was good at, so I wanted to get better and kept training. I fell in love with the sport.”

Gabe says he runs multiple miles per day to get better as a distance runner. He also does various workouts involving weights to improve his leg strength.

“For distance running, the training is, you don’t get a lot of time off. Every weekend, I’d go running and, in the offseason, I always train, only taking one week off,” says Gabe. “I do complex things like go to the track and work with weights to improve my base and leg muscles. I do all these complex things to improve all around, so I can get better. It’s definitely paid off.”

Gabe was a varsity regular in his first season with North Haven cross country last fall. He qualified for the Class MM State Championship and ran a time of 20:17 to finish in 123rd place among 173 runners.

“When I went there, I was nervous because it was my first big state meet. I talked to my captain, my older teammates, and they told me I’m there for a reason, to relax, and to have fun,” says Gabe. “It was a great experience for me as I matured a lot. It changed my high school running career.”

With Gabe now entering the home stretch of his breakthrough sophomore season, he appreciates how great of a year it’s been and looks to continue building upon his newfound success.

“This year was a complete revolution for me, changed my whole world. I’m truly blessed the way I perform and so thankful for every opportunity I’ve had,” says Gabe. “To look back, all the hard work has paid off and I’ve found something in running I can improve at. It’s truly amazing and I look to keep improving. The first-place victories just make me feel amazing and want to work harder. I want that every time I step on the track.”