Cynthia Monteleone will compete in the World Masters Championships in Spain on Sept. 4-16.

LAHAINA – Going on two years ago, Cynthia Monteleone’s 13-year-old daughter wondered out loud if her mom would consider returning to her middle distance running career. After all, mom had a track resume that included a high school career running the 400-meter, 200-meter, high jump and relays.

Then it was on to the University of North Carolina Wilmington on a track scholarship and a collegiate career under Coach Jim Sprecher, whose mentor was Clyde Hart, coach of world record 400-meter holder Michael Johnson.

After a successful career, Monteleone put her track shoes away for some 20 years until daughter Margaret asked mom to train her in the 400-meter.

Since then, the mom and daughter duo has flourished on the track under the guidance of one of Maui’s premiere track coaches, Rudy Huber.

Cynthia recently competed in the USA Track and Field Master’s National Championships at Spokane, Washington, where she won four gold medals to bring her total to eight national titles for 2018 alone.

The mom and daughter duo of Cynthia Monteleone and Margaret Reese has flourished on the track under the guidance of coach Rudy Huber.

She won gold in the 400-meter run (58.04), the 200-meter (26.12), and the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays. She also helped her team, the Southwest Sprinters, set an American record in the 4 x 400 relay, dropping down to the 35-39 age group for this event.

She is currently training in preparation to leave for Malaga, Spain at the end of the month to compete in the World Masters Championships on Sept. 4-16.

Cynthia goes into the meet ranked with the top performance of the year in the 400-meter in the women’s 40-44 age group and the third best time in the 200-meter.

A mother of three children, Cynthia hopes to inspire people of all ages that it’s never too late, and you are never too old to pursue your dreams.

She continues to compete and study the skill of running and strength training in the hopes of sharing this wisdom with the young track athletes of the Lahainaluna High School team and the Lahaina Heat track club that she coaches.

She is thankful for the support of the Maui community helping her try to get to the world championships in Spain.

Cynthia is still fundraising to get there, and if you’d like to help, go to “http://www.lahainaheat.com”>www.lahainaheat.com to find more information on donations or buying a T-shirt.