Back Into Form At The Harrisburg Mile


The 27th Annual Smith Barney Harrisburg Mile took place along the water on Front Street Wednesday evening with 13 different heats. The course is point to point flat course with approximately 150 yards of slight incline at the finish. The money raised for the event benefits the newly renovated Harrisburg YMCA. This was my third race in twelve days and it was the race I finally found the mechanics that I have been searching for in the past.

As runners, there are times that we lose our form, speed, or technique. In the last few races I was feeling that I was working too hard at times and not feeling any flow with my running. I thought it might be my arms, legs, or extensive travel. Before the Harrisburg Mile, I had the awareness that my difficulties had to do with my body position when I was running. The best way to actually see my running style when I feel strong, fast, and bounce can be seen in the OneMileRunner.com logo. Notice the torso of my body slightly forward with my chest leading me down the road. The last month or so I have been feeling my chest falling behind my hips affecting my stride, arms, and foot plant. This would happen most often when I was feeling tired during a race or workout. I remember coach Ray Helsing telling me, “David you are leaning back.” 

So at Harrisburg I had three aspirations: Start off with a strong 1/8th of a mile, keep my torso in the same position the entire race, and then trust this form will work. Two moments in the race I felt my torso lean back to this passive, slower, and easier position. Both times I corrected the position in order to maintain my strong form. It felt great running like this. For the first time in weeks, I flowed. There was not a lot of effort to feel speed and bounce. I finished in 4:49 and gained the confidence to use this in future races. I hope to run a lower time now in the next few races. Check out the video at https://blog.onemilerunner.com/2008/07/19/abc-news-channel-27-harrisburg-pa.aspx  

Here is a photo with Anne Aufiero, President of AdAbility, Inc. in Harrisburg who set up the television interviews and handles the marketing of the event for Smith Barney.


Then I am here with the winner of the Elite heat, John Butler, who ran the Harrisburg Mile in honor and in memory of his grandmother who passed away recently. John ran a 4:15 and has been the winner of the event each of the last three years.



It was fun to be back in Pennsylvania for two races. Sekyen and I returned to Florida for a few days before we fly to Vancouver for race #13. This is my only race outside of the USA this summer. We are both looking forward to spending time in Vancouver and running the event in Gibsons, B.C. on the 26th. Here is a clip from the local NBC station in Harrisburg.

High School Runners Show Their Class in Chambersburg


At the 5th Annual Tim and Susan Cook Memorial Chambersfest One-Mile Race, participants came out to support the former coach of the girls cross country and track team for 27 years at Chambersburg High School – Tim Cook. The one-mile race is in honor of Tim and his wife Susan, who were killed in an automobile accident in December of 2002. The money raised from the race benefits the Tim and Susan Cook Memorial Scholarship Fund which awards two Chambersburg Area High School senior runners each year. Athletes came out and ran as a tribute to their former coach or in memory of a coach that came before their time in high school.

In my travels around North America this summer, it is very special for me to also interact with the youth at the races. The high school students in Chambersburg, who I had the pleasure in meeting last year as well, really are great people. They respect the coaches at the high school (past and present), they compete to the best of their abilities at the race, and they aspire to make a difference. I had the opportunity to not only race against them, but also “cool down” with them on their cross country course. It was my pleasure to get to know them a bit more this year. Thanks for making me feel welcome on my brief visit to Chambersburg.



The race course is from the middle school to the high school – point to point. I finished in 4th place overall in 4:49 as a few of the high schoolers, especially David Eubanks – who will be going on to run at the a Divsion 1 school in 2010, took the pace out and beat me to the finish. It was also great to see again race director and coach, Chris Monheim along with the communications director for the Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce, Kathy Leedy.



Sekyen and I visited Gettysburg on our way to Philadelphia for the weekend. When we flew into Harrisburg on Friday, I had to film a TV spot for ABC 27 to help promote the Harisburg Mile on July 16th. When we arrive back into Harrisburg on Tuesday the 15th, we will help Smith Barney and the YMCA try to make the Harrisburg Mile a memorable event.




Half Way Point at the Boom Box Mile in Connecticut


The Boom Box Mile in Willimantic, CT marked the 10th race in the 20/20/20<5@45 – half way to 20! July 4th began as a rainy day on our ride down to Connecticut, but it cleared by the start of the parade. The Boom Box Mile is run by the exuberant and well-versed Willimantic resident, Charlie Olbrias. The Boom Box Mile happens just before the famous Boom Box Fourth of July Parade.

Back in 1986, The Boom Box Parade began because the Windham, CT area could not find a band for their Memorial Day parade. The late Kathy Clark brought the idea to play patriotic music on the WILI-AM (1400) radio station. The request was too short for the Memorial Day parade, but WILI agreed to sponsor and play the patriotic music on their radio station for the Fourth of July parade 22 years ago. The host of Connecticut’s longest running morning radio show and the grand marshal for 2008, Wayne Norman, was there at the parade’s inception and it has been going ever since. It is such a unique parade with the only requirement for participants is to tune their boom box radios to WILI’s marching band music and try to wear red, white, and blue. Many of the floats are made by individuals and families in the community. It is the a chance for the community to show off their creative side. 



Charlie Olbrias, the race director and the head of www.lastmileracing.com, put on a great race on a limited budget. The deceiving race course is your typical New England small town road with and up and down, up and down feel to the race. I was surprised that I ran the uphill first quarter mile faster than the slight downhill second quarter, so I was not at the time I wanted before the most difficult uphill third quarter mile. I kicked in the last quarter mile in 68 seconds and finished at 4:53. My brother and Nutrition Consultant for the OneMileRunner.com, Marc, wanted to break 6 minutes, but just missed in 6:02. My nephew Jonathan had aspirations of breaking 9 minutes and did it easily in 8:23. We had a wonderful time at the race and the very original parade before heading into Boston for the July 4th festivities.



With the postponement of the Don Bowden Mile in Stockton, CA, I had to scramble to find another race schedule the next two weeks. I decided to run two races in Pennsylvania: one in Chambersburg on the 12th and the other in Harrisburg on the 16th. That will make three races in 12 days. I also wanted to keep with the race theme that have the road mile as its featured race. Please view the race changes on my race and events page on the website. See you in PA!

Boise – Full of Surprises


Boise was our ninth stop on our 20 city stop. I flew into Boise from LA and the woman next to me was telling me how wonderful Boise is. I was soon to find out that she was right. I had never been to Boise before and Sekyen and I were pleasantly surprised at what a great small city Boise really is. It is a very athletic city with skiing, mountain biking, kayaking/boating, and other sports conducive to a city that sits next to beautiful foothills. And of course, Boise is the home of the blue and orange, the most exciting team in the WAC football conference – The Boise State Broncos (Sekyen and I checked out the football stadium the night before). In all my travels all over the world trying every Thai restaurant I can find, Boise has the best vegan Thai options at The Mai Thai restaurant. You can find out more at www.maithaiboise.com. Sekyen and I ate there both nights as we closed the restaurant down after the race Friday evening.

I appreciated Sid Sullivan coming up to me before the race. He told me that he was following my races across the country (he said that we raced against each other at Indoor Nationals in 2007 – I checked out the photos of the Boston race and he was right – but with all the hysteria there we never officially met) and he introduced me to some of the other talented runners in the area. Boise area has put together a very strong contingent of runners, especially in the team relay. They spoke about how they enjoy working out together, traveling to races together, and supporting each other in their training. Isn’t that what it is all about with teammates and training partners? The Boise runners are a great example of how a congenial group of runners help make each individual better.



The Main Street Mile in downtown Boise has the tag line “A Mile for Men’s Health,” as the purpose of the race is to raise funds for prostate cancer research and to provide free prostate screenings. Since the purpose of www.OneMileRunner.com is to raise awareness of health and fitness after 30 years of age, I thought traveling to the Boise Main Street Mile was a good fit. The flat downtown course was the shape of a big rectangle as you run the rectangle twice – so you have 8 turns in the mile course. Yes that is a lot of turns, but that was the least of my problems as I really struggled breathing in the dry hot air (Boise is over 2000 feet in elevation – the locals call it a “high desert”). Just after the midway point of the race, I was in trouble. I just gutted out a 4:54 and I am still coughing and wheezing a few days after the race. I was supposed to travel to Chicago over the weekend to visit Sekyen’s sister, Nandi, but when she heard me on the phone Friday evening, she told me to fly home for some rest. It was a good decision. We had not been home in a while, so it was nice to take a weekend in Florida.



I travel to Connecticut on Wednesday to run in the Boom Box Mile on July 4th. If you are in the New England area, come on out and join me for a celebratory 4th run! Here is the footage from Channel 2 the local CBS affilaite in Boise.

From the Halls of Congress to Southern Hospitality


Sorry that I have been late in writing my blog this week, but I just presented a 3-day clinic in NY that left me no time to write. So here I am flying to Boise, ID from NY via Philiadelphia, Los Angeles, and then to Boise for the Main Street Mile on Friday evening.

It has been a busy week as my trip to Washington, D.C. began with a photo shoot. I met Florida Congressman Gus Bilirakis at his office on Independence Avenue. We discussed my travels, inviting him to NYC for the conclusion of the 20 weeks in late September, and inviting him to join us in Greece next summer when OneMileRunner.com goes international.



Then we drove from Washington, D.C. to Winchester, VA for The First Bank Loudoun Street Mile on Saturday morning. We were well received due to race director and top Masters long distance runner, Mark Stickley. Mark is the owner of a running store named Runners’ Retreat in the Old Town Mall in Winchester. Mark was a gracious host as he arranged accomodation at a nearby hotel for two nights and hosted us at his house for dinner with his wife, Beth, three children, and friend, runner, and owner of WZRV, Andy Shearer. We had a great time visiting with everyone and getting to know them.

We promoted the race on Friday at The Runners’ Retreat with a live 1/2 hour radio broadcast on Andy’s station, 95.3 The River. Then I visited with the ABC affiliate channel 3 in the afternoon promoting the race and answering questions about my 20 week schedule.





The First Bank Loudoun Street Mile has a little bit of everything: some downhill, 1/4 mile of incline, flat, and a finish on the Old Town Mall brick street. It was a challenging, but enjoyable race with an energetic finish and closing ceremonies on the steps of the old courthouse. I ran a 4:49 as the 2nd Masters runner. Due to Mark and Beth Stickley, Sekyen and I experienced southern hospitality at its finest – from the hearts of people who care.

ABC News Interview in Winchester, Virginia


Just click this link below to see what actually aired on TV3 Winchester.

Viewing Instructions: On the righthand side of the page there is a video player. The player defaults to playing the current day’s sports news. To view David’s video use the navigation thumbnails below the main window. You will need to use the arrow pointing to the right to go back in time. When you see David’s picture titled “Making a Mile of it”, click on the thumbnail and it will display the video in the video player.

http://www.tv3winchester.com/sports/headlines/20609064.html



Here is the full “behind the scenes” interview in Winchester, VA:


O’Meara named “HeadBlader of the Month” for June 2008


I was just informed that I was chosen as “HeadBlader of the Month” for the month of June. I am honored to follow on the long list of HeadBladers before me like Howie Mandel and John Salley. Please visit the www.headblade.com then click on “HeadBladers,” then click on “User of the Month.” The easy, close shave from my “Zamboni like” HeadBlade razor does make me feel faster before I compete. It is part of my pre-race ritual as seconds count in the mile.

Also, I have just chosen a new race on August 2nd. I will travel back to Texas to participate in Paul and Mike’s Excellent Mile in Amarillo, TX. You can find all the information about the race at www.LoneStarRunnersClub.net

I met Paul Herrmann at Race #2 in Austin, TX. He was running the race in Austin and talked about his race in Amarillo. Then I called and emailed his associate for the race, Mike Flores. After conversations and emails, Paul and Mike’s Excellent Mile changed their race date from late July to August 2nd to fit into my race schedule. Then they offered me a wonderful package to get me to come to their feature event in Amarillo. I am really excited to return to Texas and participate in Paul and Mike’s Excellent Mile race at the beginning of August!