MONROE, Conn. — Eddie Tristine, 25, first started running on Jockey Hollow Middle School’s cross country team as an eighth grader and he’s never stopped going. He now lives in Boston and works as a recruiter for an architecture and design firm. When it’s not freezing outside, Tristine often makes the three-mile-run from the building to his home at the end of the day.
“I come home, immediately drop my backpack off, and run around the neighborhood,” he said of a typical day. “I just feel lazy when I don’t run. I don’t feel as productive.”
Tristine, who graduated from Fairfield Prep in 2019, ran track and cross country all four years, and continued to compete in both sports at Boston College, where he studied marketing and management. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in human resource management at Sacred Heart University, while still running.
“I was a middle distance guy, I mostly ran the mile in college and high school,” he recalled. “Then I would do longer distances as time moved on. Now I do the marathons and a good amount of 5ks when I can.”
Tristine used to participate in the Sprint for Monroe in town, finishing first overall in 2017.
Last Sunday, he had his personal best in a marathon, two hours and 46 minutes, in the Ascension Seton Austin Marathon in Austin, Texas — beating his previous best time by one minute.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Tristine said of his performance. “I started off the first half right on the pace I was trying for. The next 10 miles I was under my pace. Then the last five miles I felt it in my quads a little bit and slowed down.”
Of the approximately 7,200 runners in the Open Division making the 26.2 mile trek, Tristine came in ninth overall and he finished in third place for his gender and age group in the 25-29 category.
“If I were included in the Pro Division, I would have come in 17th,” he said of the division for elite runners.
This was Tristine’s fifth marathon.
“I did Boston last year, but didn’t do too well,” he said. “I wanted to qualify again, so I ran this one.”
For elite runners to qualify for the Boston Marathon, they have to run at or below 2:55, according to Tristine.
Aside from flying to Texas to participate in the marathon last weekend, Tristine enjoyed Austin with his girlfriend for Valentine’s Day and visited a friend who lives in the area.
“I thought the trip was very fun. It was nice to get out of the snow and freezing cold for a couple days,” he said, adding of the race, “everyone was cheering me on. I had a smile on my face. We started around 60 degrees. Then it got to 70. It was perfect.”
Not a ‘2:30 kid’
Tristine remembers one of the things that kept him running throughout high school.
“I didn’t want to just go home after school. There was a nickname at school if you went right home. It was the ‘2:30 kid,'” he said of Fairfield Prep. “I essentially wanted to go above and beyond just school. I wanted to be fit and have fun. It’s a relaxation thing for my mental capacity.”
“I’m a pretty stress free guy,” Tristine added. “When I’m running, most of the time I’m kind of jamming with my headphones on. Sometimes I will run with a friend.”
Tristine tries to hit a weekly goal of around 40 miles.
While training for a marathon, his routine includes an easy run on Monday, a speed workout Tuesday, another easy run Wednesday, hills or repeats or speed work Thursday, an easy run Friday and a long run Saturday (anywhere from 12 to 20 miles), before ending the week with an easy Sunday run.
“Consistency is the biggest part, so it doesn’t matter how far or fast you go,” Tristine said of running. “Getting out the door is the hardest part. Try a few days a week and build up every day. As long as it’s in your routine, you can go further as time goes on. It’s just about discipline, especially in the cold when it’s harder to get motivated.”
Motivation wasn’t something Tristine ever lacked. While growing up in Monroe, Tristine running in streets around his home was a common sight for neighbors, some of whom would text his mother to say, “I saw Eddie running today. Keep up the good work.”
“Throughout my 10 years of competitive running, I’ve had a lot of support from my family,” Tristine said. “My parents, siblings and grandparents would come to all my races, which is pretty sweet.”
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