Lou Serafini

By Kristen Hislop

Name: Louis (Lou) Serafini
Age: 32
Family: Fiancé, Gabi; Parents, Rocco and Annie; Sisters, Helen and Olivia
Hometown: Niskayuna
Town: Cambridge, Mass.
Sports: Cycling, Hiking, XC Skiing, Ice Skating, Softball – anything outside!

A Journey to Find the Joy

Much of the time we talk about a running progression as a journey. You start and tackle milestones as you progress. Those could be distance or time goals, and often you hear the phrase ‘enjoy the journey.’ For kids in high school and college, times matter, but you’ll hear good coaches talk about the process. When you’re in the middle of a season that might not be going well, there tends to be little joy in running. It is all about completing the workout, hitting the times, and doing well at meets. This pressure can come from a variety of places: self-inflicted, coaches, parents, teammates, and nowadays social media. As you’ll learn from Niskayuna native, Lou Serafini’s story, when the joy is present, great and fun stuff follows.

Lou grew up tagging along with his dad, Rocco, who ran at the Summer Track Series at Colonie High School. His mom, Annie, started Niskayuna Moms on the Run in 2000. The group has grown to a network of 100 women, running various distances and meeting around Niskayuna, with the same essence of camaraderie, support and friendship. While Lou participated at the Colonie meets and watched his mom build a running community, he focused on baseball. 

It wasn’t until high school that Lou found a passion for running. He had done cross-country starting in sixth grade, but when he broke five minutes for the mile in ninth grade, running jumped to the front seat. He was convinced by the Niskayuna High School coach to try outdoor track & field. After learning that if he quit baseball, and focused on running, a 4:30 mile was possible, he says, “I did, and then ran 4:22 as a sophomore at a dual meet at Burnt Hills. I never looked back.”

Louis and Niskayuna Coach Jason DeRocco have a favorite memory of his high school career. Lou says, “I have memories of this crazy triple my coach would let me do during indoor sectionals. I would run the 1600 meters, and sit and kick as slow as possible to try to win. Immediately after was the 600 meters, and I would race that. Then, I’d have about an hour to rest before running the 1000 meters. I did it my junior and senior year at UAlbany meets, and both times won the 1600 and 1000 but was never better than second in the 600.” Coach DeRocco also remembers the time Lou ran the mile at Penn Relays as an individual. Then he came back the following day and ran the 4x400 relay so that his teammates would have the opportunity to race at the infamous Penn Relays.

Kids sometimes set lofty goals for themselves in high school. Then, as they look ahead to college, they see the benchmark times college coaches set to make the team. Lou had a dream to run the Millrose Mile, but when he came up short there, he set out to break 4:20 in the mile. He ran 4:13 his senior year. With the times he had posted in high school, colleges were looking at him. 

When asked about choosing Boston College, he said, “I had it in my head that I wanted to stay close to home and be in a city. Boston College ticked both boxes for me. I was a late bloomer in school so I knew I could use running to help me get into a good college, and Boston College was the best fit at the time.” Running well in cross-country and track & field is a great asset to get into the college of choice – let’s spread that gospel. 

About deciding on a program, Lou recommends, “I would speak with many different coaches but ultimately, college is more than just running! It’s a huge part of your decision but at the same time, it’s important to prioritize your other needs: location, education, etc. A good coach and program will support you no matter what, so look for honesty and a willingness to listen when talking to coaches.” As a mom of two college runners this is very sage advice.

Entering college is a huge transition. Kids go from being the best to just like the rest. But athletics can help prepare you for that. Lou adds, “college was challenging being a small fish in a big pond so a lot of it was about adapting, taking what the sport was giving me, and celebrating the small successes. There were some wonderful moments like breaking 25 minutes at the famed Franklin Park cross-country course, and winning the 4x800 at the New England track & field meet. I wouldn’t trade the relationships built with my teammates for anything.”

Let’s get back to that journey. We should all know that it isn’t linear, but chasing PRs certainly warps our sense of reality. Shouldn’t it always be onward and upward? Louis hit plenty of PRs in high school and then they became a moving target in college. This story plays out every year for athletes across the country, so where does the journey take you? Well, you’ve got to keep chugging along to find out.

Post-college Lou has many checkboxes next to his name. He could have taken it easy after college and pursued other interests, but as he eased back a little, the joy came back. He truly loved running.

When asked about how his training has changed over the years Louis says, “I’ve gotten more relaxed with my training over the years. Not when it comes to training volume, but my attitude is more laid back. In high school or college, I would be anxious if I had a bad workout or missed a day of running. Now I’ve learned that it’s important to listen to your body and go with the flow. For this past marathon build – leading into the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials Marathon in Orlando on Feb. 3, I ran 100-120 miles a week and did two workouts – one on Wednesday and one in my long run over the weekend. In high school I ran very low mileage, which I am grateful for. I feel like it gave me more room to grow as opposed to being burned out.”

More relaxed and yet running at the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials in 2:17:09 and 35th overall! It sounds like it can’t be true, but when you feel you’ve got more to give why not? He also ran in the 2016 and 2020 Trials.

“I always felt like there was more in the tank so I just kept going,” Lou said. “I try to set little goals to keep me going. First it was to qualify for the Boston Marathon, then it was to qualify for Olympic Marathon Trials, then I wanted to break 14 minutes in the 5K (13:48 at 5000 meters in 2020), and break four minutes in the mile (3:59:33 in 2018, 514th American to do it) – a lifelong chase, my favorite running memory! Then run 2:15 in the marathon (2:14:59 at 2022 California International Marathon). You just have to keep raising the bar and giving yourself things to shoot for. My favorite running memory is breaking four minutes in the mile; it was a long chase!”

These days, there’s not much left he wants to do... Lou said, “I would like to run a really good Boston and to get as close to 2:10 as I can.” Look out Boston 2025!

Three Olympic Marathon Trials and a list of PRs post college; all when running was fun. What about work life? After all, just because you qualify three times for the Olympic Trials, it doesn’t mean you have a lucrative shoe contract! Armed with a marketing degree, Lou started with a public relations firm. A Boston College track alumnus was looking for students for an internship, which then turned into a full-time gig – it could have been a perfect job in Boston. But it was the part-time weekend gig at Heartbreak Hill Running Company that brought joy.

After receiving an offer to match his salary to manage the store, he jumped into the running industry full-time. After four years managing the store, he was tapped to run the Boston Trackhouse for Tracksmith, an independent company that makes premium running gear for training, racing and all conditions. From there he has moved into a role as head of global events and community initiatives which includes sports marketing and team partnerships. Lou mentioned, “I’m super proud of what we can do for amateur athletes at Olympic Trials. We’re a small company and don’t have budgets of the bigger brands so we chose to support 150 amateur athletes, instead of just sponsoring two or three pros. Every athlete works so hard to get to the next level. We’ve had some unbelievable athletes go on to be a pro including Keira D’Amato, Cravont Charleston and Kara Winger. We’ve had national champions, US record holders, and Olympians... It’s crazy.”

Lou continued, “The other half of my job is organizing community events and spreading the joy of running to as many people as we can. I’m lucky to work somewhere I’m passionate about every single day.” Isn’t that what we all want and definitely want for our kids? What advice does Lou have for those who want to pursue a career that aligns with their passion? “For anyone who wants to work in running, it’s important to say yes to as many opportunities as possible. Networking and hustling were the keys for me. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and work outside your job description.”

It’s something of a full circle that Louis fosters an incredible community for running in Boston and internationally through Tracksmith after his parents introduced him to the run community early on. Lou says, “the cool thing about community is that it’s not a one-size fits all; it’s anything that brings people together. As long as there are people who are willing to bring people together and people who want to run, there will always be community. It’s about consistency, authenticity and opportunity.”

On the personal side, Lou and his fiancé, Gabi Drummond, are engaged to be married later this year. She just finished her PhD in Neuroscience from MIT. Gabi’s also an accomplished runner and ran the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2020. She’s from Wappingers Falls but they met in Boston through the running world. They have two dogs, Meredith a standard poodle and Honey a mini poodle with three legs; both dogs love running and routinely run Lou’s doubles with him.

Locally, Lou makes his annual pilgrimage home for Thanksgiving, and has won the Ellis Medicine Cardiac Classic 5K for 15 straight years, and has won the MVP Health Care Stockade-athon 15K three times.

Mantras guide and inspire us so I asked Lou for his: Patient and relaxed early, aggressive and tough late. When you’re on a journey, filled with joy and some frustration to meet your goals, this is a pretty awesome mantra! Where will your journey take you and will it be filled with joy?

Kristen Hislop (hislopcoaching@gmail.com) is a USA Triathlon and Ironman U coach, and race director for the Delightful Run for Women (formerly Freihofer’s). The Hislop Coaching motto is “Do–Believe–Achieve” because she feels everyone is destined for greatness. She is a proud mother to two boys who run in college and her husband completed his first 70.3 triathlon in 2023.