Beach Nov 2016

“While Melia is naturally talented,
she has an amazing work
ethic,” Williams-Smith said. “She
challenges herself everyday on
every workout. I think the girls on
the team see this and aspire to it.
She really doesn’t take her talent for
granted and has decided to get the
most out of running. She is a very
driven person. She is driven in her
academics and everything else that
she does.”
Mira Costa’s cross country season
“unofficially” began in August,
when the programs from Mira
Costa and Palos Verdes high schools
train for a week in Mammoth.
“The Mammoth Camp is a highlight
of every summer,” Chittenden
said. “Although I enjoy family vacations,
I always look forward to
going to Mammoth. The altitude
and strenuous runs make for great
training. You learn mental toughness
you don’t know you had. The
bonding aspect is tremendous. Our
team is really close by the time the
season starts.”
It was during this year’s trip to
Mammoth that the high school runners
had the opportunity to meet
Meb Keflezighi, who was preparing
for his final training run before
heading to Rio de Janeiro for the
Olympic Games.
“Meb told us to focus on setting
goals we know we can reach then
increase them,” Chittenden said.
“He started with the goal of being
the fastest on his team, then fastest
in the league, then state, region and
so on. He later became an Olympic
medalist and was an inspiration to
listen to.”
Chittenden said she doesn’t know
where she gets her athletic genes
from although her parents, David
and Camille, and younger siblings
also run.
“My mother began running
marathons but not until she was in
her mid-to-late 30s,” Melia said.
“I’m happy that (siblings) Cara and
Cy are running at Mira Costa and
even Anna, who is in 6th grade,
runs for Manhattan Beach Middle
School.”
Williams-Smith said it is a rarity
to have three kids from the same
family on varsity at the same time.
“Cara is the only freshman on our
varsity squad and has been a varsity
scorer since her second race of the
season,” Williams-Smith said. ”Cy is
one of our super sophomore boys
Chittenden cont. on page 38
With State of the art PicoSure technology,
old Q-Switched lasers are a thing of the past.
• FEWER TREATMENTS
• FAST RECOVERY
• MINIMAL DISCOMFORT
• QUICKER COVER-UPS
• FINANCING AVAILABLE
• NO DOWN TIME
RESULTS WILL VARY
50% OFF
FIRST
TREATMENT
W/PURCHASE OF PACKAGE
AFTER MENTIONING THIS AD
1601 PCH, #145
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
310-379-0000
AbsoluteTatRemoval.com
November 10, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 37