Fifth Avenue Mile is finale for 20-under-5 miler O’Meara

One mile to go for David O’Meara of Sarasota, Fla.

David O’Meara, who set a goal of running 20 straight sub-5 miles at age 45 last spring, has fallen short — thanks to miserable weather. According to his stats page and latest race report Monday, he clocked sub-5s on road miles 17 consecutive times before running a 5:01 on Sept. 7 in Duluth and a 5:04 on Sept. 14 in Falmouth, Massachusetts. So he’s revised his goal to running 20 sub-5s overall in summer 2008. He added the Sprint with Judy Mile this past Sunday in Woodstock, Connecticut, and the Fifth Avenue Mile this Sunday in New York City. Here’s my original interview with David.

David wrote of Race No. 19 in Connecticut:

It is Race #19 on the 20/20/20<5@45 schedule after I failed to make the 5 minute cutoff in Falmouth, MA. Sideways rain, strong headwinds, and water over my ankles in the last quarter should have told me not to run in the event and just save my body from the race pounding. However, since I had traveled all that way I decided to give the Main Street Mile a shot, but by the half-mile point, I knew there was no chance of breaking five minutes in those crazy conditions (no one did). So I chose to bounce back on Tuesday evening, with the "Sprint With Judy." The "Sprint With Judy" One Mile Road Race took place in Woodstock, CT, just over the MA border. I was looking to run one more event in MA , but mile events were not available and this was close enough (as my Mom and Dad grew up in nearby Webster and Dudley, MA). Judy Nilan was a social worker at the Woodstock Middle School. The school and staff that loved her so much started a 5K road race in her honor in 2006 called "Jog With Judy." I ran in the auxiliary portion of the fund raiser entitled, "Sprint With Judy." Instead of the 5K road race, the "Sprint With Judy" takes place on one Judy's favorite running roads, but it is a mile. So instead of a jog, it is a sprint. In 2009, the organizers will make the "Sprint With Judy" a part of the 5K festivities every May. I have been invited to not only race again in Woodstock next year, but also to speak to the Woodstock school system. It should be a great time!

No matter how he does on Fifth Avenue, David has accomplished a lot — raising money for charities and proving the incredible durability of a 45-year-old athlete. Congrats, David, and go for sub-4:40 in Manhattan!