She was just hoping to get back in shape. Now Keira D’Amato is an Olympic contender.
Ninety seconds. That’s how long Keira D’Amato could run eight years after she hung up her sneakers as a four-time Virginia All-State High School Champion and four-time college All-American. It’s a number that’s hard to fathom given that the 37-year-old just broke the American marathon record. But consider where she was back in 2016: she’d married, become a Midlothian realtor, and had two children—Tommy and Quin, now 7 and 5.
“I was like 85 pounds heavier than I am now,” she says. “I gained way too much. The doctors were like, ‘You need to chill. Maybe not eat Chick-Fil-A every morning.’ I just craved so many carbs,” she says.
Running, D’Amato figured, might be a fun way to get back in shape.
But that exhausting minute-and-a-half jog came as a harsh wake-up call. Where was the powerful endurance she’d maintained at American University? A less driven woman might have thrown in the towel and put away her running shoes for good. Not D’Amato. She knew she needed to run. She needed that time for herself, a break from work and family, a space to clear her head, so she kept at it. And slowly, and with the occasional root beer float incentive, D’Amato got faster. And faster. And then a whole lot faster. In 2017 something wild happened.
“I ran the Richmond Marathon with the goal of coming in under three hours,” she says. She finished at 2:47. “It was a 30-minute personal record for me,” she says. It was also two minutes off the Olympic Trials qualifying time.
Suddenly, this casual runner was a contender.
“I was like, I’m two minutes off the Olympic Trials? I feel like I need to go for it,” D’Amato recalls.
Fast forward to January 16 this year. After thousands of miles of training, a Nike sponsorship, and a feature story in the New York Times, D’Amato took the starting line at the Houston Marathon. Two hours, 19 minutes, and 12 seconds later, she crossed the finish line in first place. This time, she got a little something extra with her gold medal: she became the American marathon record holder. Suffice it to say, the Olympic Trials are no longer a daydream for D’Amato. The running world assumes she’ll qualify.
“After setting the American record in the marathon, the thing I am most excited about is some girl/woman saw that and thought, ‘I can do that.’ I know they will … and I’ll be rooting for them,” D’Amato tweeted after her record-breaking run. And that’s the message she’s most interested in delivering right now.
Whether it’s waving to a fan on the streets of Richmond who notices the cheerful blonde racing past them, or posting inspirational photos on Instagram, D’Amato is living proof that second chances are worth taking.
Richmond, VA – March 10, 2021: Richmond resident, realtor, mom and professional runner Keira D’Amato pose for a portrait accompanied by her husband Anthony D’Amato and their kids Tommy D’Amato and Quin D’Amato at Libby Hill Park in Richmond, VA, March 10,2021. Photo: Carlos Bernate for Richmond Magazine
“We’re all Team D’Amato,” she says of the people who have helped her get here. D’Amato’s husband, Anthony, and their children, often travel together to her races, their handmade signs a signature at the finish line. But her reach has spread far beyond her beloved Richmond community. The running world and beyond has taken notice. Not just of D’Amato’s incredible speed, jaw-dropping in a sport not often dominated by mothers in their late 30s, but of her attitude. D’Amato trains hard and loves to win, but she says she tries to keep the sport fun.
“The biggest thing that I’ve learned, which has helped me become a little bit more free, is that I’ve failed so many times, and it’s not that bad,” she says. With age, D’Amato says, comes perspective. “Losing doesn’t suck as much as I was afraid it would. If I fall short, I analyze what happened, I add another tool to my toolbox. You know, you’re not going to win every time, and that’s OK. Learn your lesson and move forward,” she says. In the elite sports world where youth is often critical to success, D’Amato’s showing that with age comes not only wisdom but rewards.
“In my 20s, running was everything,” she says. “Now it’s one of the things that makes me Keira. I’m not just Keira the runner, I’m Keira the wife and mother and real estate agent, and I’m fulfilled in other walks of life.”
With all of Richmond—and every mom out there who’s ever tried to fit in a workout—cheering her on, D’Amato has already won our hearts. She’s primed to compete in the Olympic Trials in a race that has yet to be announced. If all goes well, Virginia’s own Keira D’Amato will join the U.S. Olympic Team at the 2024 summer games in Paris. And now, she’s been recognized as the 8th best runner in the world at the Women’s World Championship Marathon with a time of 2:23:24. One thing remains the same: Her legions of fans are cheering her on all the way.
This article originally appeared in the June 2022 issue.
