The longest miles: Author’s challenge runs from Greece to Hawaii Posted by Joan Pringle | Aug 08, 2012 | 591 views

David O’Meara is running seven races on seven islands in seven time zones in seven consecutive weeks.

Fidalgo Island made number six on the list when O’Meara took off on Rosario Road near Lake Erie early Saturday morning.

“I ran a 4:43 on a tranquil country road that typifies the area and was protected at all times by Mert and his taxi service,” O’Meara posted on his blog.

“The weather was great for the race … showed off the beauty of the area, and I felt good throughout the race — just straining a bit at the end,” O’Meara said. “Racing against the clock in those conditions is a treat.”

O’Meara of Sarasota, Fla., is an athlete, coach, speaker and author of three books.

His focus is on injury prevention and body protection. His most recent DVD, 2012 Body Protection Training, which is coming out in September, is geared toward athletes of any age but targets the older athlete. Joints and ligaments become the most trouble as people age. O’Meara teaches people how to prevent those problems in their earlier years.

“The key is to train your body in a way for your sport,” he said. “It’s for athletes of any sport and any age so they get out there and protect themselves. It’s what’s missing in the industry.”

The Isles Mile Challenge is O’Meara’s fifth series of self-made challenge races.

The first in 2008 focused on speed, strength and endurance while he ran 20 one-mile races in 20 weeks in 20 cities. In 2009, the theme was recovery, in 2010 it was international travel and in 2011 it was adventure, taking O’Meara to the Grand Canyon, Taj Mahal and Stonehenge.

Like the races that first year, O’Meara set out to complete each of this year’s races in less than five minutes. If he didn’t, he challenged himself to run a second race in the same time zone but on a different island. O’Meara favored doing his race on Fidalgo Island because of the many islands in the area if a second race became necessary.

Fortunately there were no second races for him throughout the series. He made all of them in times from 4:39 to 4:49.

This year’s series has taken O’Meara to Galway, Ireland; Reykjavik, Iceland; Santorini, Greece; Mount Desert Island, Maine; and Hamilton, Bermuda. He was to finish out the series on Sunday on Hawaii’s Big Island. When completed, O’Meara will have traveled 11,500 miles.

This series was easier than others because the races were all at sea level. More challenging, according to O’Meara’s Web site, were the hills and tropical climates. The rainy Northwest weather was also listed as a hindrance, but Saturday turned out to be one of the sunniest and hottest days of the year here.

While in Anacortes, O’Meara stayed at the Nantucket Inn and took in the sights, including Deception Pass State Park and the Anacortes Arts Festival. Photos of his trip along with video of the race are posted on his Web site, www.onemilerunner.com. O’Meara can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BodyProtection.