SOLE Blog

October 24th, 2011

Accelerate at any age: an interview with David O'Meara

SOLE athlete, David "The One Mile Runner" O'Meara spent the bulk of 2011 completing a new personal record. David achieved his 5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes by running 1 mile at five wondrous locations around the world, including the Grand Canyon, Stonehenge, Golden Gate Bridge, Taj Mahal, and Petra.

He officially ran the 5 miles with a combined time of 24 minutes and 31 seconds. For those of you who don't run, that's a sub-5-minute mile; that's a quick pace, especially for someone almost 50!

SOLE had a chance to connect with David and discuss where he finds inspiration, how he stays injury-free, and what it means to accelerate at any age.

How long have you been running?

DO: I have been running competitively for 13 years. At 48 years old, one of the reasons I continue to do these unique mile tours is to discover what works and what does not as I get older.

SOLE: Has staying fit and not getting injured become more difficult as you've aged?

DO: The key as we age is to avoid injury altogether as we do not recover as quickly. That is why I am now coming out with my new injury-prevention video called Body Protection to share the secrets of why I have not had any injuries as I push my body to race the mile fast and in various conditions. Also, that is why SOLE is such a special sponsor. I want to be affiliated with products that assist athletes in staying injury-free, especially as we age.

SOLE: Are there days that you just don't feel like training?

DO: I am afraid that I might be a little different in the area of training. It is a true passion of mine as I just cannot wait to get my body moving. One aspect that I love about my mile training program is no one day is the same. It takes speed, strength, and endurance. If you are truly passionate about something in your life, there is no hump to get over, and no external motivation necessary as my inspiration comes from within.

SOLE: What fuels that "inspiration from within?" Something must motivate you.

DO: Training has always been a passion throughout my life. I loved it even when I was young. My inspiration comes from my desire to get close to things that I cannot touch... My interests lie in learning more about courage, faith, trust, etc. Training and competition bring me closer to the things I cannot touch or purchase.

SOLE: What was the inspiration for "5 Wonders Under 25 minutes?"

DO: The inspiration came from accomplishing our last three events starting with a speed theme in 2008 called 20/20/20 5@45</a. Then in 2009, the theme was recovery. So the challenge was to race the mile three times a week for 26.2 miles and complete the New England Marathon. In 2010, our theme was to go international with our tour. So we created Around The World In Less Than 30 Minutes. We traveled to 6 continents in 6 weeks and raced 6 one-mile races under an accumulated time of 30 minutes.

This brought us to 2011, where the theme was the adventure mile. This meant racing the mile in difficult conditions from high altitude, strange temperatures, and different surfaces. The inspiration for 5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes came from our progression of events over the years, but also from the theme of adventure running conditions found at the Wonders of the World.

SOLE: What do you hope people will glean from your example?

DO: It has been very rewarding to be able to compete at this level as an older athlete. I hope others can truly feel our tag line Accelerate At Any Age. I hope others can discover the inspiration within to allow them to reach their own aspirations without age being a limitation.

SOLE: What would you say to someone who is struggling to "accelerate at any age?"

DO: One must go inside and learn about his/her own spark. What makes them enthusiastic? Enthusiasm is one of my favorite words that I discuss in Creating Amazement. It comes from the Greek word entheo which means god within. So when one is passionate, inspired, and enthusiastic, an athlete can feel god within, and then accelerating at any age is much easier.

Well, I may be about 20 years away from the age of 48, but I suddenly feel very motivated to go for a run...