Dalton Charest
Equinox Staff
Most athletes in the modern day of sports dread the idea of conditioning by running mile after mile to the point where blisters inhabit their feet. However, for Maggie Fitter running is just what she does and she is known for her willingness to compete at all levels and her nonstop hard work, Fitter has become a top runner at the Division III level.
Fitter, a senior at Keene State College, hails from Branford, Conn. She is a senior captain of KSC’s Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams in her last year of a great career.
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Running the 800-meter race, the mile and the Distance Medley Race on the track, Fitter has risen to become the Owls’ number one runner on the women’s team.
Becoming an All-American after running the third leg for KSC’S DMR team in the 2010-2011 track season, Fitter raced to All-ECAC honors in the mile, earned All-New England and recognition in the DMR. She also ran in the 800 and the mile at Little East Conference Championships.
Fitter has now taken on the role as the number one runner for KSC women, filling the shoes of her former teammates and friends. The standout runner took the top spot despite an injury plagued two months before hand.
“I kind of took an untraditional route you could say in getting there,” Fitter said. She continued, “I was injured for two months so I was upstairs on the elliptical and on the bike for probably three hours every day. Going into the outdoor season I think something that did help was starting and knowing that was going to be my focus. Usually in the past, Pete has always had us do the mile and the 800 and so I think going into the season and knowing specifically that’s what I was going to do in my training [helped] and everything was specifically geared towards that.”
Head Coach Peter Thomas said his captain of the women’s squad is really the type of runner who has made a lot of progress since the day she stepped on the KSC campus and since then has really come into her own.
“She got off to a little bit of a slow start initially as a freshman because she had mono in the summer before,” Thomas said.
“So we had to really edge her along, but she ended up in the season running quite well and she’s had terrific seasons ever since.”
Fitter is quintessentially the type of student athlete that colleges only dream of.
Not only is Fitter one of the top athletes in the school, but she also succeeds in her academics as well as always being a willing volunteer. Fellow teammate Kaley Mientkiewicz said that having Fitter around is a huge role in her development as runner and the rest of the team.
“On track she’s like a role model because she’s very big about working hard and being humble about it,” Mientkiewicz said.
Mientkiewicz continued, “She’s led the team well as a captain and off the team she’s doing volunteer work and things like that. She’s someone good to look up to in every aspect.”
Fitter described pressure as something she seems to have handled well over four years here running for KSC when talking about the expectations of her senior year. “I think I put a lot of pressure on myself because I have a lot of expectations and sometimes I would like to go back to my sophomore year where I was in the DMR that got third,” Fitter said. She continued, “Going to nationals last year is something that kind of gives you the drive to go back there and hopefully get an All-American of your own now.”
Fitter explained her team has really stepped it up despite the loss of recent graduates and stand-out runners Paige Mills and Andrea Walsh.
“I’m very excited to go into the season because we have a lot of good talent,” Fitter said. “I’m definitely excited. Losing Paige and Andrea is definitely a hard loss for us, but so far the girls are definitely filling those shoes. Everyone’s working well together.”
Thomas said reaching All-American status and setting school records isn’t such a lofty goal for Fitter because she’s been knocking on that door for the last couple of years.
“She’s been knocking on the door in setting school records in the 800,” Thomas said.
Thomas said, “She should have a standout senior year. I’m looking for her to only not only qualify for nationals on the track but go All-American and put her name in the record books here at Keene State.”
Fitter’s next step in her life involves volunteering in AmeriCorps after she graduates here at KSC.
After an internship with the Samaritans last summer she said that was really a huge step in getting her involved in the volunteering field.
“Hopefully I can get into it,” Fitter said, “It’s pretty hard to get into so we’ll see.”
Whether it’s running the trails of the great outdoors, sprinting down a track staying in your assigned lane or volunteering at a food pantry, it’s safe to say that Fitter will take the rest of her life post-college one stride at a time.
Dalton Charest can be contacted at
dcharest@keene-equinox.com