Walking up the hill from the Middle School to the Summit Building may leave many of us panting, but for RA's Director of Math, Science and Technology and ultra-triathlete, Debra Lasala, it barely gets the heart beating. Mrs. Lasala has always enjoyed testing her limits physically and had an opportunity to do so recently when she competed in the ChesapeakeMan Ultra Distance Triathalon in Virginia. The race consisted of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike race and the running of a marathon - 26.2 miles. Mrs. Lasala won the event for her age group and has consistently enjoyed improving her times in each of the three aspects of the competition. When asked how she could complete any of these three super-human feats, let alone finish with a marathon, she responded, "You are just so happy to get off the bike that you welcome the marathon." Training for an endurance event of this scale requires year-round training, with intensive concentration for the six months prior to the race. Mrs. Lasala often rises at 5:00 a.m and spends time in the pool or can be found running the six mile commute to work. "I will frequently ride the bike or run to school. And on the weekends I train all the time," commented Lasala. "I find it a huge personal challenge and have always enjoyed being outside and testing my limits." During school hours, visitors to Mrs. Lasala's classroom find themselves nose to nose with singing cockroaches, snakes, guinea pigs, fire-bellied toads and poison dart frogs. Mrs. Lasala is the Director of Math, Science and Technology for the entire school and teaches science and robotics to Seventh and Eighth Grade students.