New Additions and Schedule Changes


Please visit the new section on the blog entitled “As Seen On TV.” This section shows the interviews with various television affiliates and also has the newly updated video which features the Ceremonial First Mile from Tarpon Springs, FL. It has me racing through Tarpon Springs to the jazz music of Bob McCarroll who has a new album coming out called “Crisis.” Bob’s music can be found at www.mccarrollmusic.com

There have been a few scheduled races that were altered in the second half of the 20/20/20<5@45. As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, The Don Bowden Mile in California was canceled on 7/12. This not only affected that race on 7/12, but also my scheduled race in Alaska on 7/19. Since I was not going to be in California, we felt that Alaska had to be changed as well. So that is why I changed the schedule to participate in Chambersburg,PA and Harrisburg, PA on 7/12 and 7/16.

After much discussion, we also felt to pass on the 1500 meters event in Spokane, WA at the National Masters Outdoor Championships. At the beginning of this journey in May, I said I was going to Spokane and make the 1500 meters into an unofficial time mile time (as I was going to continue another 109 meters). At www.OneMileRunner.com, we have decided to maintain the theme of our summer race schedule by selecting “featured” one mile road races around North America without one mile “fun runs” or track events. I will miss not seeing the other competitors at Outdoor Nationals, but I will see them at the Indoor National Master Championships in Maryland next March.

Hope to see you in my upcoming events in Gibsons, B.C., Amarillo, TX, or Springfield, MO!

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.

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!

Family and Fans Join Us in Bangor, ME

Family and fans joined us in Bangor, ME on June 14th. It was great to have my family travel in from Arizona and New Hampshire to support me at The 8th Annual Garelick Farms-Bangor YMCA Main Street Mile Milk Run. Some of them even had “One Mile Runner” t-shirts made to show their support…




My nephew, Braedon, ran in the 2nd heat. It is good to see him have interest in track and field and other sports. We will have a clinic when I am in Arizona with him and his other 4×400 teammates.

The Bangor course is usually a straight shot down Main Street that would have been sweet, but with all the construction going on in town (due to the new gambling casino – not all the residents are happy with this addition), the organizers led by Tammy Hodgdon had to change the race to finish at the waterfront. It was a very good course that had few more turns in it, but the route concluded at a nice park. They might decide just to keep this course for next year as well.

The race had participants who drove down from Caribou, ME (one of the most northern spots in the USA as parts of Canada are below them). The participants from Caribou told me that they viewed my website a few weeks ago knowing that I was coming to Maine. They wanted to “link up” our sites and follow my journey, you can find this northeast running club at www.spudlandracers.com or www.aroostookmusterds.com



I finished in 4:42, 1st in the 40-49 age group and 4th overall. I spent a few moments with Z107 radio after the race. We had some delicious Thai food (my favorite) before we departed for a family reunion in Cape Elizabeth, ME.
The day before the race we were on ABC and FOXTelevision promoting the race in Maine.



I am off to Winchester, VA to race on the 21st. We look forward to meeting race director, Mark Stickley, who owns Runners’ Retreat, the store which puts on the event. I look forward to spending Friday with them promoting the event.






Pre, Indeed, Still Lives In Eugene


You can still feel the spirit of Steve Prefontaine in Eugene, OR. Running is the passion in Track Town USA and Pre is the still the energy behind it all. I was fortunate to be taken around to the all the running stops in Eugene by running friend, Chris Yorges. He showed me Pre’s rock where there is a memorial at the place of his car accident, Hendrick’s Park where Pre often ran, and Pre’s trail where the wood chips that Pre loved so much in Europe now adorn these trails across from the University of Oregon. It was a special trip for me to Eugene as I learned so much about the history of the University of Oregon, the famed Hayward field, and Pre.






I traveled to Eugene to participate in the Eugene Challenge Mile, a pancake flat course in downtown Eugene with four turns. The Eclectic Edge Racing team put on the event with the Eugene Running Club – and they all did a great job with the event. A special thank you goes out to Michael Black, owner of the Eugene Running Company, and William Wyckoff from Eclectic Edge Racing. The people at the event made me feel very welcome and made my trip to Eugene one that I will not soon forget. I ran a 4:45 and finished 1st in the 45-49 age group with a solid run down 5th Street. The competition, as you can imagine, in Eugene is very good as we had 24 runners break the 5 minute barrier.

One of those 24 runners was Ted Hunter who drove in from Washington. He came up and introduced himself during my warm ups. Ted stepped up his speed workouts over the last six weeks and at 43 years old he was delighted to break five minutes in 4:56.



The day before the Eugene Challenge Mile, the rains were falling. I had a television interview with KVAL TV and it was pouring while I was being filmed running along the Eugene trails. Brian Elder, sports reporter from KVAL 13, did a splendid job chasing me in the rain and then following up with his story before and after the race on Saturday. We will get Brian’s story linked up to our website for you all to see.



Also on Friday, I had the opportunity to do a video interview at Hayward Field for www.flotrack.com with Kevin Danaher. Kevin is a great guy and it was a pleasure for me to spend so much time with him over the weekend. Early the next morning, Kevin followed me for my pre-race preparations, performance during the race, and then my post-race wrap-up. You will be able to check out Kevin’s piece on www.flotrack.com later this week.



Due to Terry Howell’s recommendation and invitation, I changed my flight plans to stay another day in Eugene to observe the Prefontaine Classic on Sunday. This track meet is the top track meet on American soil. After a 10 mile run on early Sunday morning with Terry and his Australian friend, Ian Leitch, (also a runner from the Santa Barbara area), we all went to see if Bekele or Defar were going to break their world record attempts. Bekele ran unbelievably well, but missed breaking his own world record. It was a memorable day at The Prefontaine Classic as American pole vaulter, Brad Walker, set a new American record and was named the athlete of the meet. We also saw Maria Mutola win her 16th 800 meters in a row at the Prefontaine Classic.



For a Prefontaine fan, visiting Eugene is like visiting Graceland if you were an Elvis Presley fan. You can feel the spirit and the energy of a person that made such a remarkable impact with his life’s gifts and works.

HeadBlade Signs On as New One Mile Runner Sponsor


On Friday, May 30th, Sekyen and I flew west across the country to Los Angeles. We went directly from the airport to Culver City, CA, where HeadBlade headquarters is located. HeadBlade is the world’s largest grooming products company for men who shave their heads. There we met with Todd Greene, founder and President of HeadBlade, Inc. Todd is also a Bowdoin alum who grew up in New England as well. Now he is an inventor and entrepreneur who believes that HeadBlade and The One Mile Runner are  a great fit. Todd presented me a check for sponsorship, we had a photo shoot with Senior Designer at HeadBlade, Lin Mei, and made the business relationship “official.” Check out the product line at www.headblade.com







After the meeting, we drove out to picturesque Santa Barbara, CA that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Santa Barbara has a beautiful main street called State Street.  This is an incredible course (a straight shot that goes slightly downhill without pounding out the quads). The State Street Mile is celebrating its 25th anniversary which began back in 1983 by Terry Howell – who is still running very fast today. It was fun to sprint down a vacant State Street on Sunday morning June 1st. I finished in 4:38 (2nd in my age group).


We flew to Phoenix after the race to see family that I have not seen in a while and to meet with my web designer. I will fly to Portland, OR on Thursday to participate in The Eugene Challenge Mile on June 7th and then observe the Prefontaine Classic track meet on June 8th.