Why We Run: Diana Castle

This year we have a record-breaking number of runners working with us to raise funds for Fishermen Wellness. This is the second of three profiles sharing the stories of why they run, and why Maine fishermen and their wellness matters to them.

DIANA CASTLE

Day job: SVP, Business Banking Strategy and Insights Executive , Bank of America

Race: Full marathon

Years running with MCFA: First time!

You grew up with Gerry Cushman (MCFA board member), right? Tell me more about growing up in a Maine fishing community.

I’ve known Gerry pretty much my whole life – we went to school together. We had a lot of childhood antics together.

I’ve always had a passion for fisheries. My first job was stuffing bait bags. I also worked for Cod End Cookhouse, a restaurant and fish market in Tenant’s Harbor. Mrs. Miller, the matriarch of that business, gave me a summer job there. I watched her work – she was IN CHARGE of that fishing operation. That really stuck with me. I learned a lot about work ethic and the industry from her, and got some early lessons in leadership.

Why did you start running?

I’ve always been a runner but never ran seriously until my late 20s. Growing up, I ran mostly to stay in shape for sports.

The great thing about running in general is that anyone can do it. And, you can pick it up at any point in your life. A few years ago, I broke my ankle very badly. My foot was on backwards… I tore all the ligaments and broke all the bones in my ankle. And here I am running again – I might be a little slower now, but that’s okay.

What drove you to do longer races?

My first 5K was a fun run, the Firecracker 5K on the Fourth of July. And I thought “Well, if I’ve done a 5K, I can do a 10K.” My first 10K was Beach to Beacon – a truly inspirational and amazing experience. Thousands of runners come to Cape Elizabeth for this race, there’s a huge American flag at the start, and Joan Benoit Samuelson spoke, the first female marathon runner, also a Mainer. It was so cool! And of course I thought “if I can do a 10K, I can do a half marathon” and signed up for the Maine Marathon that next year. 

Then, I decided to have kids and worried if I didn’t run a marathon before kids, I might never. My oldest is now 19! After he was born, I wanted to run a marathon to lose weight, then ANOTHER one to get in shape for next pregnancy, and so on.

Why are you running for fishermen wellness?

My oldest sister was married to a fisherman who lost his life on a fishing vessel. My nephew is also a commercial fisherman. I have enormous respect for fisheries and fishermen. It’s a dangerous industry, a dangerous lifestyle – it’s really hard work.

What do you want people to know about this work?

This is an easy cause to get behind, not controversial at all. Let’s protect fisheries because you want to consume fish, because it’s good for tourism, because it’s good for the economy. Whatever you care about, fisheries are an important thing to support – and we have to make sure they’re here for the future. 

I live on the coast in Rockport. Rockport Village still has a lot of fishing – the owner of Rockport Marine at the time (the grandson of author E.B. White) owned all the moorings in the harbor. When he sold some of those moorings, he made sure that the ones in the inner harbor must go to fishermen. The pleasure vessels have to be further away, which is the opposite of most communities. When I walk my dog past the Andre the Seal statue, I see fishing boats every morning. It still feels very present and important in our community.

But my husband is English, from the Isle of Wight. There is no fish, no seafood there the way we have in Maine. You see fish & chips, but that’s about it. The industry is pretty bleak due to overfishing. We’re at a real risk of losing our fishing industry, in our lifetimes – so let’s step up and stand up for Maine fisheries.

Support Diana's Run