One race he'd never
miss
By MARK BEHAN
Staff Writer
He is a runner, so it's not surprising that during his six weeks
of radiation treatment for prostate cancer, George Dirago ran
five miles per day. Nor is it fall-off-your-chair news that
Dirago recently celebrated his 66th birthday with a race. This is
what runners like George Dirago do. On Friday night Dirago and
hundreds others will toe the line at Haverhill High School for
the 15th annual Tony Sapienza Memorial Race. Dirago considers the
event extra special because it serves as a memorial to a training
partner and a man he held in the highest regard, Tony Sapienza.
Sapienza once was the Haverhill High math department head and a
world-class runner who finished fourth in the 1963 Boston
Marathon. Dirago has entered the race every year since its
inception 15 years ago. He has run nine times, only missing when
he was out of state competing for the Lucent Technologies
corporate running team. Dirago retired from Lucent last July
after 41 years. "Tony was just an unbelievable, humble guy.
He'd slow his training pace down so anyone could keep up with
him. I was new to the sport and he really encouraged me. You
wouldn't have known he was such a great runner. He would never
talk about himself. He'd win a race and then minutes later be
more interested in how his friends did," Dirago said.
Sapienza would be proud of how his old training mate is faring
today after being diagnosed with prostate cancer during a routine
physical in November. Dirago underwent a successful operation
Jan. 11, but not before sneaking in one last race, the Hangover
Classic in Salisbury on New Year's Day. After his prostate was
removed, Dirago began radiation treatment about a month later and
resumed running. Doctors cite a one-in-three chance the cancer
will come back. Since May he has run five races, capturing the
60-69 age group at the Plaistow, N.H. 5K and finishing among the
top-three in the others. A devout Catholic, Dirago thanks God for
his recovery and everything he has. As he tackles the
lung-searing hills of North Avenue and Gile Street on his daily
five-mile run, he prays. "I pray for people--family and
friends. God is allowing me to run again and I am very
grateful," Dirago said. He and his wife Cammie have two
children and four grandchildren. Nearly every day, for 22 years
Dirago has run and raced in heat and snow, through good health
and bad-hair days, on birthdays and holidays. He actually
competed in the April Fools Day 4-Miler in Salisbury just four
days after starting radiation treatments. "Running is the
best medicine in the world. It relieves stress and just makes me
feel good," Dirago said. Dirago's distinctive running style
will never be confused with the fleet-footed Kenyans who dominate
the road race scene. His right arm flails, his eyes are
half-closed and he appears to always have a pained expression on
his face. "Sometimes people who see me think I am going to
kick off. But I am okay out there, no need to worry" Dirago
said with a smile. "In races guys joke that they should pass
me on the left, that way they won't get hit with my right
arm." With a room full of medals and trophies at his home,
Dirago prizes one trophy in particular. Two months after Sapienza
died in 1987, the Lawrence 10-Mile Challenge awarded the Tony
Sapienza Memorial Trophy to the first runner over age 50. Dirago
proceeded to run his best 10-mile time ever and captured the
award. "I really wanted that trophy," Dirago said.
Copyright © 2001 ETP Ventures, Inc. All Rights Reserved.