On September 1, 2020, Germantown Academy’s very own Robert DiDonato ‘21 hit yet another major milestone in his running career. Following months of contemplation between his top 8 schools, which included the likes of Harvard University, University of North Carolina, and Duke University, Robert finally announced via Instagram his commitment to Stanford University.
In a recent interview, Robert emphasized how the beauty of his successes on the track and cross-country course, as well as his recent commitment, seem to mask his grueling work behind the scenes. “There are no secrets,” he explained, “It’s hard and it sucks a lot of the time. It’s not easy whatsoever. In running, hard work is more directly correlated with success than in any other sport.” The structure of his training, DiDonato described, is composed of consistently setting goals and pursuing them; “I basically take training week-by-week, aiming for 50 to 60 miles for each 7-day cycle. My coach Pete Jennings and I work together to come up with training plans – which are a diverse mix of biweekly workouts, recovery and easy runs, and a lot of fast running altogether – and then I execute.”
Robert also commented on his perspective of his past seasons of training as a whole. “I started cross country my sophomore year, so almost exactly two years before my Stanford commitment. I truly had to expedite the process of becoming the caliber of runner I am today. Most of the runners at a similar level as me today have ran hard their whole lives, and to compete with them, it was necessary to accelerate the journey of becoming a top Division-1 athlete.” DiDonato highlighted how his sophomore year revolved around developing his new lifestyle, while his junior year was focused on “the grind to develop as a runner and get the times to reach Foot Locker Nationals, which is a huge hub for recruitment.”
As a high school senior, Robert looks back at his most-satisfying successes on the cross country course. “GA-PC day, the Inter-Acs, and PAISAA States definitely stand out as some of the most fun races from 18-19 and 19-20; it’s always a great feeling to run with the team in front of the GA community (at GA-PC) and get some wins.” The Foot Locker XC Regional and National Competitions on the other hand, Robert revealed, were a much more serious affair. “I had rolled through my sophomore season, winning nearly every race I ran. But, the Foot Locker Regionals race was a rude awakening for me. I remember the disappointment I felt when I missed the nationals cutoff (top-10) by a huge margin, placing 58th with a 5K time of 16:43.” However, this feeling of defeat only further motivated DiDonato as he commenced his junior year.
“I felt like I had a lot of work to do if I wanted to reach the Nationals race.”
And Robert upheld this mantra, putting in mile after mile in the 2019-2020 season to eventually run a blistering 15:34 at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional race, not only cutting 1:09 from his time the year before, but also finishing in 10th and qualifying for the Footlocker Nationals Race, where he placed 31st. He encapsulated his Foot Locker experience by remarking, “The regional and national races from my junior year represent my growth as a runner throughout the past couple years.”
As for his commitment to Stanford, DiDonato names the school’s world-class academic offerings alongside the vast campus resources and opportunities as some of the main pull factors. Another big draw for Robert was the opportunity to run under Stanford’s Coach Ricardo Santos, who has incredible experience from coaching at Harvard and the Boston Athletic Association. He concluded the interview by saying “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of the group that he [Santos] has, and will continue to have so much success at Stanford”. The GA community wishes Robert well in his athletic career and other future endeavors. We thank him for the years he spent as a runner and as a part of the community!