When you hear of a ten-year-old running a marathon, you are very likely impressed — as you should be. When you hear that he ran the 28-mile Infinitus Trail Race, you should be in awe. That is exactly what Leo Noviello did in the mountains of Vermont on May 29.

The Infinitus Trail Race was organized by Andy Weinberg, a professor of Health, Human Movement and Sport at Castleton University who also happens to be the co-founder of the infamous Spartan Race.

According to the Infinitus Trail Race website, there were a series of races to be run over the course of several days, ranging from 8 miles to 888 kilometers with a 240-hour cutoff. No, that is not a typo! Leo ran the marathon, which consisted of a top loop of 7.3 miles with approximately 1,500 feet of climbing and a stream crossing, followed by a 19.9-mile loop with approximately 2,900 feet of additional elevation, with some of it running through a swamp. Essentially 27+ miles of mountain trails, creeks, and swamps with enough elevation to take your breath away.

“It was cool, about 55 degrees,” said Steve Noviello, Leo’s dad. There were no age groups, and the events were mixed with the 8-mile, 88k, and the marathon all starting together.” In sum, there were approximately 400 people starting as a group. “I was a little nervous at first with the big crowd,” said Leo. “Once we got running, though, I was OK.” Leo is referring to the initial 8-mile loop where he outpaced almost half of the group. “I let Leo dictate the pace in the first 8-mile loop, and he went out really fast. Then, I paced the last 20 miles,” said Steve.

When asked how his son got into racing, Steve Noviello responded, “Leo has been training since he was five years old, when he ran his first 5k.” Leo really got the bug to try a marathon two years ago, however, when he ran a 10k called the Sky Run. The race director was so impressed with Leo that he encouraged him to run a marathon. Leo said he would give it a try. Unfortunately, COVID eliminated racing in 2020. Flash forward to the present, Leo not only completed the race but actually beat out a large portion of the field, finishing in 8 hours, 2 minutes, and coming in 60th out of 81 marathoners.

Leo trained with his father for months to prepare for the Infinitus. As the race date approached, Leo and Steve would run the short loop at Ricketts Glen five times in just over five hours, which is approximately 20 miles of rough terrain. When asked if he liked training for so many months with his dad, Leo reflected, “In the beginning, it wasn’t bad, but at the end, it wasn’t so fun. I’m glad I stuck with it.”

Because Steve and Leo raced for such a long time, keeping up their energy was paramount. “We had sports gels, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Snickers, and some sports drinks,” Leo said. “It was really rough terrain,” added Steve Noviello. “Mountains, water, swamps, you name it. He did great.”

It wasn’t only Leo’s family rooting for him. “At the end, everyone was screaming and encouraging Leo. Random people were cheering him on. He beat out a lot of people, which was an impressive feat by itself, let alone for a ten-year-old. His next challenge is to run a 100-mile race. He saw a 15-year-old complete one, and he’s motivated to try it.”

“The race was really awesome. Dad and I just talked a lot through the race,” said Leo. “Honestly, watching him do this was one of the most unbelievable things I’ve seen in my life,” said dad, Steve. “I raised him to understand that participation trophies are not on the table; he worked hard for this.”

Leo’s goal was to complete the Infinitus Marathon in less than 8 hours. He was able to complete it in 8 hours, 2 minutes. Though he fell slightly short of his goal, no one can deny that this is an impressive young athlete with a very bright future.