In a Class By Herself
"I was surprised I won," says Coleen Cosentino
Coleen Cosentino, 81, from BelAir, Maryland, is a mother of five and has nine grandchildren. The retired postmaster had what it took to win the Fiesta 5K’s age 70-99 category for women. “I’ve done this race with a neighbor three other times and been happy enough to finish, but this year, I figured I should prove to myself that I could do better.” Cosentino had a technique: “I’d go along and if I saw an older person, I’d step it up a little and get around ‘em. Still,” she says, “I was surprised I won.” As for training, it wasn’t intentional. She and the neighbor walk about a mile and half a day around their condo community. “I’ve always exercised,” she says. Though Cosentino hasn’t known anyone with ALS personally, her new granddaughter-in-law, Misty Glorioso, did. Glorioso’s grandmother, Lena Stapleton, died in 2001 from the disease. In honor of Lena Stapleton, the team, Lena’s Legacy, entered the first Fiesta 5K. It was Cosentino who kept the roughly 20-member team looking sharp. “I told them last year that they had no style and needed team shirts.” Look for Lena’s Legacy next year in sage green. | | |
