Track and Field Blogs - Brendan OKeefe

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I’m cruising down highway 58 with coach Pete Rea. We’ve got Depache Mode cranked to the max as we make our way to Blacksburg, VA for a little 3k rustbuster, a kick off to the indoor season. I arrived in NC just a day ago, and made a quick turn around. After the race we’ll drive on down to Tallahassee: our winter getaway and home base for six weeks.

I have to say I am ready for warm weather. I’ve been holed away in the depths of Downeast Maine for the last month. We live a mile down a dirt driveway in a cedar log cabin, currently buried in 2 feet of snow. I spent much of my break tromping around in snowshoes and x-country skis. The first 2 weeks never crept above 15 degrees. I ran, gingerly picking at the firmer ground, facial hair and eyelashes beaded with ice.

We live right near the ocean and I’ve come to appreciate the area more and more over the years. Windblown spruce cling to granite cliffs and border cobblestone beaches, backed by mountains. I did most of my runs on an 11-mile loop around Schoodic Peninsula, a portion of Acadia National Park. I may have had some very harsh runs, but they were beautiful.

My time at home also reminded me of our atypical lifestyle. I grew up without TV or hot water. I listened to Sesame Street on the radio and spooned water warmed on the stove over my head for showers. We heated our house with wood and ran the lights with three solar panels on our roof. My parents have acquired a few of the amenities over the years. We have hot water now and just got a refrigerator. My dads on an ice cream craze, he can’t believe they can actually keep it in the house. It’s unique and I appreciate growing up this way, but I must say I will enjoy using an indoor bathroom over the next couple months.

My last two races were a blast. First on December 9th we had club nationals. All mud and haybails, it was x-country at its finest. I was dealing with a pulled calf and had to stop midway through the race to knuckle out a spasm. At two miles I was in 91st, but was able to get rolling by halfway. I finished as our fifth man in 26th. Ryan Warrrenburg ran an incredible race, winning by almost 10 seconds and leading our team to a victory over some very solid groups.

The Emerald Nuts midnight race was incredible. Ryan, Thomas, John and I worked our way to New York City from all over the country. We found ourselves on the starting line in front of thousands of brightly clad and high-spirited runners. The air in central park was buzzing; packed with music and fireworks. The race went out quick. The field was strong. I spent the whole thing dueling with a college teammate of mine, Jeff Gaudette, nipping him by just a few seconds at the finish. 19:00 for 4miles. I had taken a week off after clubs, so I was pleased with the race. The New York Road Runners did an incredible job. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking to end a string of anticlimactic New Years nights.

As great as these races were, I'm ready to run my distance. On to indoor!