| Runner is racing against time |
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| Written by Jeff Walls | ||||||
| Friday, August 22, 2008 | ||||||
BAR HARBOR — The seventh race of the Eden Athletics/Jack Russell’s Race Series, the Downhill Mile, on Saturday, Aug. 30, will have a special entrant who is striving to achieve what few can attain at half his age.
 David O’Meara O’Meara, a Sarasota, Fla. resident, will be using modern technology while he travels to journal, blog, and podcast about his experiences, insights and newfound friends. He welcomes visitors to pose questions to him or his personal team of experts. Addressing the topics that affect every aspiring athlete over 30, this team of experts will help older runners understand the importance of proper biomechanics, training, nutrition, and recovery.
The rising tide of older athletes who perform at a very competitive level has become more mainstream, especially in light of the current Olympics where several athletes have demolished preconceptions of what age an athlete must be to remain competitive. “I think life is better on the move,” O’Meara said. “I think that there is a large part of the older population that isn’t moving and that is a shame. It is a much higher quality of life and that’s what I am all about is quality. My dad died of colon cancer when he was 56 and that is right around the corner for me,” said O’Meara. “I wanted to find out what I could do as an athlete. I feel like it is kind of a calling for me as an older athlete as an inspiration for an older athlete because I do see this as part of the aging process.” O’Meara will be sharing his training methods, performance techniques and improvement processes with running clubs and local organizations in each of the cities he visits. His endeavor began on May 10 at Tarpon Springs, Fla. All of O’Meara’s races have been under the time of 4:50 so far in his sojourn. O’Meara is a 1985 graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick. He then taught professional tennis overseas with a Davis Cup team in India. After that he turned to writing, using his sports experience as motivation. “I was writing my second book, called “Play Better, Live Better.” I was about 36 and I started to get into 5K racing,” said O’Meara. “It took me about seven years to run the race that I wanted, where I finally broke 16 minutes in the 5K. Ever since then I have been only concentrating on the mile because that is my first love.” The Jack Russell’s Steakhouse Downhill Mile is the 17th race out of 20. “I didn’t even know about this race until about a couple of weeks ago. I was supposed to run a race in Lowell, Mass. on Labor Day,” O’Meara said. “He was the only race director I hadn’t spoken to in the last couple of months. I finally talked to the president of their running group and I found out that they are not going to be able to put this race on. Then I was in a scramble because I was in the Northeast and the only other race I could find was in South Dakota,” said O’Meara. “That’s when one runner I met when I ran a race in Bangor earlier this year told me about this race. I think it worked out better because I would much rather race in Bar Harbor than in Lowell. I think it is going to be great fun.” The Jack Russell’s Steakhouse Downhill Mile will be on Saturday, Aug. 30, beginning at 9:15 a.m. It is one of two new races on the 2008 Points Series schedule. Registration for the race will take place on the morning of the race between 8:30 and 9 a.m. at Jack Russell’s Steakhouse at 102 Eden Street. This “mostly downhill” course will start on Cleftstone Road and finish on Highbrook Road not far from Eden Street. For more information, visit edenathletics.com. For a complete list of open practices, races, speaking engagements, and more about O’Meara’s quest, visit OneMileRunner.com. |
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