Against all odds

By Dave Dyer
ddyer@eagletribune.com

November 04, 2008 12:31 am

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METHUEN — At first glance, Steve Fitzsimmons is far from an imposing runner.

The Methuen High senior runs with an obvious and painful-looking limp, the result of a broken leg mistreated as a 7-year-old that eventually made it necessary to insert a steel rod into his leg.

Opposing cross country coaches and runners watch, no doubt secretly questioning how Fitzsimmons can possibly be a factor for the Rangers.

Even Methuen coach Bill James was not sure Fitzsimmons would fit in when he came out for the team as a freshman.

"He struggled early and the fact that he had the noticeable limp made you wonder if this was going to be the sport for him," said James.

Fast forward to 2008 and it's clear that cross country is indeed the sport for Fitzsimmons. He has persevered and at times thrived despite adversity that would have derailed the career of most athletes.

Fitzsimmons is the sole captain for the undefeated Merrimack Valley Conference champions and has been at his best in the big meets.

Fitzsimmons finished second for Methuen at the Ocean State and Catholic Memorial invitationals and was also the Rangers' runner-up at the MVC meet, running a splendid 16:37 on Chelmsford's 5K course.

He'll be a key as Methuen battles for top honors in Saturday's Division 1 Eastern Mass. championship at Franklin Park.

If it were just perseverance over his chronic limp, Fitzsimmons' story would be remarkable enough. But that's just the half of it.

During his sophomore cross country season, Fitzsimmons hit a plateau, showing no progress despite putting in a tremendous amount of effort during training. Inexplicably, he then started to regress during the indoor track season.

"I'd show up every day at practice and try my hardest, but I wasn't getting any results — I was getting worse," said Fitzsimmons. "It got to the point that I couldn't even run a six-minute mile.

"I started getting depressed and I was getting ready to call it quits. I was tired all the time and starting to think that maybe running just wasn't for me."

Then, when things couldn't get any worse, indoor track coach Roger Fuller took Fitzsimmons aside and gave him some timely advice.

"He said, 'I see you've been putting in the work, but not getting results and that doesn't happen in running,' " said Fitzsimmons. "He wanted me to take a blood test."

Fitzsimmons took the advice and discovered that he was anemic, or severely iron deficient.

Within weeks, thanks to a revised diet and iron supplements, Fitzsimmons was feeling better, and his times began improving again. He cracked Methuen's top five last year and, despite more physical problems, has become one of the best "big meet" runners in the region.

"Even this year, he has battled sinus infection and bronchial problems as far as his breathing goes, but he does not complain and just keeps working to get better," said James. "He refuses to make excuses. That is a great quality in a high school athlete."

His teammates have come to appreciate Fitzsimmons' perseverance, which is why they unanimously selected him as summer captain, the Ranger in charge of monitoring summer training. His coaches made him permanent captain prior to the season.

"Steve has come from pretty much nowhere to become in my eyes the best leader we've had in my eight years with the program," said assistant coach Scott Ouellet. "He is a standout student, as mature as an 18-year-old kid could be and has a work ethic second to none.

"Steve really took his role of captain seriously during the summer. Besides his incredible dedication to his daily running (50-60 miles per week, long runs of 13 miles), his three times per week weight lifting and his dedication to nutrition, he has pulled many of his teammates along with him."

His background with anemia has allowed Fitzsimmons to counsel Methuen junior Ben Pare, who — following a similar path of potential and then stagnation — was diagnosed with the same problem and is just now starting to round into form.

"He (Pare) was really good his freshman year, a lot better than me, and then things started going bad and it took over a year for him to be diagnosed (with anemia)," said Fitzsimmons, who hopes to run next year at either Bentley or UMass Lowell.

"I can relate to him. I talk to him and give him tips, like telling him that the iron supplements can make you nauseous for the first two weeks, but then you start feeling a lot better."

Although his limp remains, and observers still occasionally say that it's painful to watch him run, Fitzsimmons is more conscious of his iron deficiency and regards that as a bigger obstacle to overcome.

"I don't consider my leg a problem because I don't remember not having a limp," said Fitzsimmons, who was in a wheelchair for 10 agonizing months as an 8-year-old. "But the anemia is a motivating factor for me in training and racing.

"I don't know if proud is the right word for what I've gone through, but I definitely feel more accomplished than runners of the same skill level."

That much, at least, is understandable. Most others believe that Fitzsimmons underestimates his accomplishments.

"I'm in awe of his success," said Lowell coach Phil Maia. "Every now and then a student comes along who is symbolic of our sport and there is nothing that better exemplifies success than a kid who has to overcome the odds.

His dedication to the sport is exemplary to every kid who runs cross country."