An interview with Bryan Buttigieg

When we first heard of this upstart candidate for president, some hotshot young guy from Indiana that everyone was talking about, my first, immediate thought was to pick up my phone and text Bryan Buttigieg – known universally in the Marist Running world as “Butti” or “Gregg,’’ depending on who you ask. “Hey! Is this guy your cousin? Your uncle?” We were talking, of course, about “Mayor Pete,” and the successful (for longer than most expected) presidential campaign of former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg. Hey. It’s a unique name, tracing its roots to the island of Malta, where our Butti’s father, Sam, is from. The only difference is our Butti pronounces his name “BOOT-a-Jeej” … slightly different than Mayor Pete’s pronunciation.

So. What’s in a name? Plenty. Butti has brought a lot of fun memories to the Marist Running world – during and after his time in Poughkeepsie. A unique name, a unique character, a blood clot lodged in the stem of his skull (true story!), all that hair (!) and yes, the quintessential MAAC mustache. I can always count on a random text from Butti – from the top of some mountain range or from the finish line of some race. Always repping the Foxes and always putting a smile on my face. We could all use a smile on our face these days and hopefully this edition of the Pandemic Papers will do just that – whether or not you were a teammate of Bryan Buttigieg. Thanks to Butti for being stoked to answer these questions so well.

Talk about your high school running, how you started in the sport, your highlights and how you wound up at Marist College. Not sure if you want to get into it, but how did you cope with/manage the "head thing" that you had to deal?

I’m going to combine these first two questions:

During my freshman year of high school, I had decided to join the track team for the indoor season as a way to stay in shape for the upcoming spring volleyball season. I was one of the three scrawny freshmen that walked into the cafeteria that afternoon for practice. On that day, everything changed when I met our new coach Rich Degnan -- “Degs.”  Despite the grueling workouts e.g. 20x400 every 21 days, he made the sport fun. He told stories of legendary track greats that we would someday hope to become. He believed in us and made us believe in the madness of his workouts. I took to the sport pretty well running 2:02 for the 800 meters by the end of my freshman year and figured I’d stick to running. I remember sometimes on the weekends we would grill up hamburgers and hot dogs post workouts next to the pole vault pits and just hang out when jumpers got their practice in.

During my junior year, I was getting into peak shape when we had the Yale Invitational Indoors. This is a meet I will never forget. I had a pretty bad headache for about a week leading up to the race but went to a few doctors and they said nothing of it, so up to New Haven I went. That night I anchored our DMR with the mile leg (4:32) and the next morning I found myself in the emergency room with an excruciating headache. After further testing, it was discovered that I had a blood clot in the base of my brain. I spent three weeks in the ICU at Winthrop Hospital. Still to this day I have not figured out the cause, so I’m sure I am an asterisk in a medical book somewhere of why this would happen to a perfectly healthy 17-year-old. I remember laughing some nights as my resting heart rate would dip into the 40s and below and all the alarms would go off on the machines in which I’d have to alert the new night shift nurse that I am a distance runner.

I was uncertain if I would be able to continue running in high school, let alone pursue running in college. Eventually, I was able to return to running because it was a “non-contact sport” by the mid-spring season. It was a slow recovery, pressing restart and rebuilding. Upon visiting colleges, the times that college coaches saw were from my sophomore year/early winter track of my junior year prior to the blood clot. Highlights from Massapequa would have to be running at the Millrose Games at MSG, and winning our state qualifier in the 4x800m and going on to earn all-state honors. 

My college decision was tough at first. Being a triplet, my dad got an early jump on college visiting. He had a map of the U.S. with each school's location and I probably visited about 100 schools. In the end of it all, I’m so grateful to have chosen Marist. It was close enough to go home if I wanted or needed to. The Marist campus is stunning, being located in the Hudson Valley, even more so these days with all of the new construction complete. I do miss the Old Gartland (R.I.P.) and the circular tables of the old cafeteria and there was nothing better than hanging out down by the river on a nice sunny day. I also was glad to be given the opportunity to continue running. I felt like the team was extremely welcoming from first stepping on campus during my official visit and I could see myself fitting in and calling them my family. 

What were some of your biggest highlights and memories of your time at Marist -- both athletically and academically?

Athletic Highlights 

1) The ability to grow and continue the tradition of MAAC Mustache  

2) Breaking the 2:00 Barrier in the 800m

3) The Foxtrot 5k 9/7/2013 leading to Cross Country Redemption 

I was not on the cross country roster my sophomore and junior years. So naturally I ran The Foxtrot 5k at the beginning of my junior year.  I remember vividly at the start of the race Coach Pete yelling “Butti you’re right with Quimes! You’re going out too hard!’’

I finished 3rd in this race with a PR in the 5k at the time right behind some other Forever Foxes: 

1. Conor Shelley 15:42 

2. Brian Townsend 15:58   

3. Bryan Buttigieg 16:13 

After this race and some solid XC workouts, I was granted a roster spot on the XC team that year. 

4) Junior year of cross country and rolling the dice. 

That year I ran modified XC workouts with middle distance guys Dave Marthy and Kyle Hannafin. We would run the same workouts as the XC team but usually with just less reps at a faster pace. That year I qualified for Regional team but was a little beat up from a race at VCP and the call was to rest for IC4As. Probably the better call ... resulting in finishing as our fourth man at IC4As. It felt great to go from not being on the roster that year to having a breakout year and scoring for the team.

5) Being a Sprint Medley Relay School Record Holder for a brief period of time. The record was tied to the milliseconds! (3:42.82 T. Johnson, Dodge, Taylor, Buttigieg)

Academic Highlights
1) I was given the opportunity to conduct a few research projects in the river lab which was cool. Marist has a science lab near the Cornell boathouse where you can pump water directly from the Hudson River. One of the projects I was able to work on was assessing the environmental impact of the new Tappan Zee Bridge on the Hudson’s last native oyster bed. We did this by creating artificial oyster reefs in tanks out of construction materials. I was fortunate to conduct other research projects with fellow teammate and friend Alex McCahill. 

2) Passing my sailing final despite our keel coming out of the water and nearly capsizing.  

I was extremely grateful to just share the same space and mindset with other science major student athletes not only the track team but other teams. But through all the science, I have to give Andrew James a lot of credit for leading all types of chemistry review sessions.  

What advice/guidance would you give to current team members and/or prospective student-athletes (recruits) about their time (present and future) at Marist?

My advice for current/future athletes would be to be present. Being a student athlete isn’t always going to be easy but if you truly want to do it, it’s more than possible with the right focus. Be present at practice, in class, and when you’re hanging out with friends because four years flies by fast. Soak in all that Marist has to offer my fellow foxes. Enjoy the process. 

You've done some really neat things post-collegiately with your running and overall adventures (hiking, mountaineering, etc.). Can you give us some post-collegiate running/other highlights?

Running in 2019

--First Trail Race 5.02 mile: 31:06 (1st place/1:01 off the course record) 

--First Half Marathon: 1:19:33 (NYC Marathon Qual Time)

--First Marathon: 2:53:08 (1st place/Boston Qualifier )

--Confirmed Entry to the 50th Anniversary NYC Marathon (hopefully it happens)

Non-running adventures/highlights

--Hiked 5 days on the John Muir Trail and summited Mt. Whitney

--Completed Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon (with Mark “Tino” Valentino)

--Through hiking The Enchantments, WA in one day 22 miles/6000 feet vert (with Tino)

--Being Best Man at Tino’s wedding 

--No Plastic Challenge in Seattle: Raised Awareness for Plastic Pollution by spelling out NO PLASTIC with my running route in downtown Seattle. 

Talk about your post-collegiate career path - grad school and what you are currently doing and where you are doing it?

After Marist, I went straight into graduate school at Clark University in Worcester, MA to pursue a degree in Geographic Information Science (GIS). It’s basically modern based geography incorporating computer mapping where aerial imagery can be analyzed and mapped for different purposes. 

While building this degree, I completed two summers of fieldwork jobs which involved recording information on GPS devices for environmental conservation purposes. I spent a summer in West Yellowstone, MT with the Montana Conservation Corps. Alongside the Forest Service, we monitored the distribution of invasive weeds and conducted treatment within the Custer-Gallatin National Forest. I also spent a summer in the small town of Kemmerer, WY with The Great Basin Institute. We spent the summer driving along dirt two track roads in an effort to measure tree canopies for juniper trees. Their location and size measurements were important information for the Bureau of Land Management to plan future projects such as where to have prescribed fire burns, and where to restore habitat for sage grouse birds. The sage grouse is an endangered species within the area.    

Currently I am a GIS Analyst at EarthDefine in Redmond, WA. I live about 20 miles north of Seattle. Our main projects currently consist of developing land cover mapping for coastal states as part of NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Coastal Management Program. Landcover can be analyzed over different years to see the gain or loss of a particular category. E.g. Are there more impervious structures being built in areas where they were not previously? Where have there been forest cuts and how much? What is the percentage of wetlands being lost? 

How are you managing the Covid pandemic? How has it affected your life and your job? Your area of the country was the first directly affected. What was that like and how is your day-to-day life now?

I think I am managing this pandemic as best as I can right now. Taking it day by day and every day is a gift. I am grateful I am still able to work as I have many friends, some family that have been laid off and are out of work. I have been working from home for 3-4 weeks now. My day-to-day hasn’t really changed much besides not having to commute to the office and not being able to play in the great outdoor scene that Washington has to offer. I usually work about 8-9 hours a day.

This started early February at a Nursing Home in Kirkland, WA, which is 10 miles from where I live and 5 from where I work. I do not think people were taking this seriously at first. Some nice weather rolled in and beaches, trail heads, and recreation sites saw extreme crowds. People thought it would be fine to go backcountry ski or hike in the mountains if they went in small groups and kept a safe distance from each other. But the issue with this is people are flocking to these small towns to get to where they will go play outside. They will still need to use gas stations as they are in remote locations, and God forbid if they get hurt hospitals don’t have the resources as they are already being overrun. The official Stay-At-Home policy was put into effect March 23^rd, which I think was a little late compared to other states. The order is currently extended to May 4th. Recreation is pretty much shut down: Ski mountains have closed, National Forests / trail heads have closed through September 30th in parts of Washington and Oregon for now. The city parks are still open but the city is now planning to shut those down for short periods of time with the fear of overcrowding during nice weather. 

Most of your family and friends are still here in the New York area. How are they doing and are you concerned about them? What advice would you give to all of us coping with this difficult time?

I still have a majority of friends and family back in NY. I have checked in with and most seem to be doing alright. Being on the opposite side of the country I somewhat feel more connected with some of them as all of our lives have slowed down and we have the time.
 

The advice I would give to people right now would be to avoid reading/looking at everything posted on social media and the news because it is rampant with COVID-19 stuff. It is good to stay up to date on protocols but it’s smart to give yourself a mental break. I remember writing one time on a post of mine: “Life is about human connection, life is about perspective, life is about laughter, life is about love, life is about stoke.” Just because a pandemic is happening doesn’t mean those parts of life need to change. I completely agree with my fellow teammate and “science nerd” Alex McCahill. She put it perfectly about changing your perspective in this manner “You are not STUCK at home. You are SAFE at home.” Find ways to keep the human connection alive. Whether that be through Zoom, Skype, texting, calling, playing a video game, etc. Find ways to laugh. Find ways to love at home. This could be spending more time being home with family, supporting local small businesses, and don’t be afraid to check in with yourself ... meditation is great for this. Find ways to stay stoked at home. During this time, a lot of musicians have been streaming live concerts, yoga instructors have been teaching classes online. Even though we cannot currently get out to the mountains/trails, you can take this time to analyze local trail systems or mountains/trips that you want to get to some day. 

What message would you relay to our seniors who were robbed of their final outdoor track season and second semester of their senior year?

It’s tough to see seniors being robbed of their final outdoor track season and second semester of their senior year. It would be tough to imagine the spring semester of my senior year getting cut short. Not only from a track perspective but from a networking perspective or just enjoying those spring days in the Hudson Valley with friends. For that, I am sorry seniors and I wish I could grant you that time back. There are thousands of students in the same situation and we need to just breathe and take a step back. 

I’d have to tell the class of 2020 to stay positive and be grateful for what you have achieved. There are still goals to be chased both academically, now professionally and athletically, if you want to keep running. Unfortunately, they may not be on an oval this spring wearing the Red & White but we are welcoming with open arms to the Marist Alumni Racing Network. Don’t let this pandemic ruin your drive. You can still get out and run but make sure to do it safely. You can still learn and maintain positive networking connections with professors and other students. Remember to stay stoked and be better.