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Daprile family makes Youngstown Peace Race a big event
YOUNGSTOWN
It’s a warm and sunny autumn weekend morning and siblings — Mark Daprile, Carolyn Quaranta and Jeanette Garvey — are relaxing after a morning run, enjoying a cup of coffee together.
The three just completed a training workout in preparation for one of their favorite family events — the Youngstown Peace Race.
For Daprile, Quaranta and Garvey — all avid runners — the Peace Race is an annual opportunity for them to share some family fun and healthy competition and to reflect upon the memory of their sibling who was equally as passionate about running and participating in the race.
“It’s fun. I just started running a few years ago, but my kids all get involved, and my husband runs,” Quaranta said.
The 36th Peace Race, an annual Youngstown event since 1975, will be Oct. 24 and features two main running distances: a 10-kilometer (6.2 mile course) and a 2-mile walk run. The 10K course follows a point-to-point scenic course through Mill Creek Park, finishing at Federal Plaza in Downtown Youngstown, and the two-mile course begins at the YMCA on Champion Street downtown.
Quaranta, 42, of Boardman, is the youngest member of the Daprile clan. The close-knit Italian family of 13 children — with the eldest child now 61 — were all raised in their childhood home on Canfield Road in Youngstown, near Mill Creek Park. Daprile said he estimates at least eight siblings will participate in the Peace Race.
Of the extended family — which exceeds more than 60 — at least 30 will participate by running, walking or cheering on family members, said Daprile, a Poland resident and president/owner of Daprile Insurance.
Although many of the Daprile family members enjoy running and supporting the race, the event has a special place in their hearts for the memory of Mary Lou Crum.
Crum was the sister of Daprile, Quaranta and Garvey. An avid runner and sports-minded woman, Crum was a faithful Peace Race participant. She died in 1997 at the age of 37 after a brief battle with leukemia.
“She was dedicated. If she was going to do it, she was going to do it. She was in it to win it. She was very dynamic,” Garvey said.
“There’s a part of the run ... when you get to Lanterman’s Falls, by Canfield Road, where you just get a lump in your throat just thinking about it,” Quaranta said.
The siblings agree, however, that Crum would be happy to know that the family is carrying on the tradition of running the race year after year.
After all, it’s a fun and healthy way for the family to share some camaraderie and healthy competition and encourage each other to meet and exceed running goals, Daprile said.
“Afterwards, we’re all pumped up. At the end, everyone’s just cheering us on. We’re all just pumped,” he said.
In past years, the family has worn same-colored shirts so they could easily spot each other in the crowd. Last year, they created a “family blog” to post comments about the race and to motivate each other.
And, afterward is the favorite part of the Peace Race tradition — a family gathering at Quaranta’s Boardman home for a big pasta dinner.
“They come to the house, and we re-carb load and just have fun,” Quaranta said.
Meanwhile, Garvey, who started running a few years ago, will run the 10K at the Peace Race as a training run in preparation for the half-marathon she will run at the Philadelphia Marathon in November.
“Jeanette has really picked it up. A few years ago, she couldn’t run a mile,” Daprile said.
Whether they are running for distance, speed or fun, the family agrees that they look forward to annual event in the natural beauty of Mill Creek Park.
“This is an excuse for everyone to get together. It’s one of our bigger days where most everyone makes the time to get together,” Quaranta said.