An untimely stress fracture in her foot put Carmen Luisi on the sidelines for the spring track season, but the Holliston High senior is healthy and fit now.
And with a summer of consistent mileage under her belt running the back roads of her rural hometown, she’ll look to become the first female cross country runner to capture her third consecutive All-State title since the great Grace Connolly of Natick.
Despite her immense accolades and the historic niche she’s already carved out in Massachusetts, Luisi still believes she has something to prove.
“I really want to prove to myself that despite my injuries I really want to run some fast times,” she said. “Hopefully the wins will come with them.”
The Massachusetts Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2020-21, Luisi knew the track season was a wash. She realized taking her time getting healthy again was paramount.
“I wanted to take the time off and not push anything,” she said. “But it’s better now and I’m starting to amp up my training and workouts.”
Luisi dove into her cross training eagerly when she was injured. She combined swimming, aqua jogging and stationary bike workouts to keep her cardiovascular strength up until she could start running again. Luisi started running slowly in June and has been building for the cross country season since.
This summer, Luisi followed a steady diet of 35-40 mile weeks running in the early in the morning before the heat and humidity of the day set in. She also put in workouts on the rail trail that winds through Holliston.
“I use the rail run for speed work and long runs,” Luisi said. “I use my road runs to get in my hill workouts.”
Holliston girls’ cross country coach Jaime Murphy said that beyond Luisi’s “obvious talent, her motivation and drive are really strong.”
“She has more goals that she wants to accomplish. She’s been working really hard to come back. She runs three seasons and that takes a lot out of your body. She’s a good person. Carmen’s a good student and wants to be involved. When you’re as talented as her you can get sidetracked, but she hasn’t. She has beautiful form and her talent is obvious.”
Luisi’s season last fall included victories at the Bay State Invitational, Twilight Invitational, Coaches Invitational and the Tri-Valley League Championships. Luisi then posted an 18:35 victory at the Div. 2B Championships at Stanley Park in Westfield. Luisi went on to capture her second state title at the Meet of Champions in the Div. 2 race in 18:27.37.
Racing on the 3.1-mile Devens course in chilly conditions, the outcome was never in doubt. She passed the mile in 5:35 and was well clear of the impressive field.
“My strategy is always to get out hard the first mile and see where everyone is at,” Luisi said. “I try to hold it through the second mile and then push the last mile.”
And now, Luisi feels stronger than ever and hopes to pace the Panthers to their third consecutive Div. 2 All-State title.
“Coming into this season I feel a lot stronger,” she said.
