It’s not unusual to see Coach Capen running on the beautiful trails surrounding campus, sometimes for pure pleasure and other times in training for a marathon. He ran his first 10K at age ten and his first marathon at twenty-five. Marathons have taken him to some of his favorite locations; he has run at least a dozen, including Boston twice, Mount Desert Island twice, New York City twice, Portland (Oregon) twice, and Rome.
Mr. Capen joined Groton’s English department in 1999. Prior to teaching at Groton, he taught in Japan, Oregon, and Maine. In addition to teaching literature and creative writing, he advises the School's literary magazine, The Grotonian, and previously advised the newspaper, The Circle Voice. In addition to coaching cross country, Mr. Capen coaches squash; in past years, he coached JV soccer, directed plays, and ran an Upper School dorm. He has a BA from Haverford College, an MA from the Bread Loaf School of English, and a M.Ed from Harvard University.
He and his wife, Jocelyn, welcome Groton runners to Maine to run and hike the trails in Acadia National Park over Labor Day.