After waking up at 4:30 a.m. to run for the past 24 weeks, Anthony DeSantis, the associate dean of students, is spending his Sunday morning competing in a marathon.
“I hate running,” he said, but added, “If I can help motivate one person a day, I’ve done my job. ”
On Sunday, DeSantis is running in the 2016 Chicago Marathon, which will be his his sixth marathon. After a former graduate assistant asked DeSantis to join him in the race, he agreed despite a lack of passion for the sport.
He said he runs as a way to show others to take time out of their day to de-stress.
After the his father died four years ago, DeSantis said he began running to prove to himself and UF students the value of taking time for themselves.
“I wasn’t taking care of myself, and I wasn’t setting a good example for students, let alone myself,” he said. He found that after every race, he felt a sense of relief.
His former graduate assistant, Joe Pokraka, said it was a “no-brainer” to ask DeSantis to run with him.
It will be the second time they run together in a Chicago Marathon, he said.
They share a common passion for encouraging others and a dislike for the sport, but Pokraka said DeSantis motivates him to work toward a goal.
“I hate running,” Pokraka said. “I wouldn’t have done another one without him motivating me.”
Anthony DeSantis (right) at a previous marathon.
