Young Sean vs. Ol' Man Teare

I will be running in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. this fall to raise money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB). FFB is the world's leading private funder of research aimed at preventing, treating and curing blindness caused by retinal degenerative diseases.

While my primary goal is to raise funds for FFB, I have a personal fitness goal as well. I ran the Boston Marathon in 1999 with a time of 4:30. It’s the only marathon I’ve done and though I am proud that I finished, I am not proud of my time. To put my time in perspective, it’s quite possible that Boston’s winner that year, Joseph Chebet, was back home in Kenya by the time I staggered across the finish line.
The median marathon finishing time in 2015 for men in U.S. marathons was 4:20 according to Running USA, while a Runner’s World’s analysis of 3 major fall marathons in the US (NY, CHI, DC),  found the average time for men in the 40-49 age group to be 4:33. In other words, at age 29, in my athletic prime, I was 10 minutes slower than the average for all age groups and I was barely faster than men 20 years my senior.

Can I beat my 1999 time? I’m 18 years older. According to my friend Gerry, that means I’m 60% older. I was an English major so I have no idea if that percentage is correct, but Gerry works in banking so I’m assuming it is. Bottom line—I’m a lot older.

Despite the fact that I’m approaching 50, I think I can beat my time and even break the 4:00 barrier. Simply put, I didn’t train properly for the Boston. I was young and cocky and I didn’t take it seriously. I just assumed I could ‘power through the pain.’ As it turned out, I couldn’t.

The Contest

If you’re like me, you are solicited on a weekly basis by your network to donate to various worthy causes. I don’t want this to be just another solicitation, so I’ve tried to make it interesting by creating a contest and giving you a reason to track both my training and fundraising progress.

Rules: Make your donation today: www.FightBlindness.org/goto/SeanTeare. Pick the time band that you think I’m going to finish (listed below). If I beat that time, you agree to make an additional donation of any amount. And I do mean any amount. If you can only give an additional $1, that’s OK. Just send an email to: seandteare[at]gmail[dot]com with your pick. I don’t want to clog your inbox, so I’ll provide updates on this blog rather than emailing you. You won’t hurt my feelings no matter what time you pick. In fact, if you bet against me, you’ll only motivate me to prove you wrong!

If more than 10 people participate, I will donate an additional $100. If I get more than 20 people, I will donate an additional $200--regardless of my finishing time.

Insider Tips: I’ve only completed the first 10 days of an 18-week training schedule, but I feel pretty damn good. I feel like I can break 4:00 as long as I stay relatively injury free, and it’s not too hot on race day. That said, the odds makers in Vegas aren’t bullish on my prospects. They don’t think Ol’ Man Teare (OMT) can beat Young Sean. Do you??

Time Bands:

Over 4:30
4:20 – 4:30
4:10 – 4:20
4:00 – 4:10
3:50 – 4:00
Under 3:50

See the highly scientific comparison grid below for help with your pick:
Category
Young Sean (1999)
OMT (2017)
Analysis
Diet
Awful
Ridiculously Healthy
My current diet resembles Tom Brady’s; it’s yet another example of how similar we are
Gluten
Full
Free
I have absolutely no idea what this means
Hair
Almost Bald
Very Bald
I’m just so much more aerodynamic
Weight
180
165
Beer
Shoes
Can’t Remember
New Balance
The slick sales guy at the running store convinced me that any shoe below $100 would be the equivalent of running barefoot over shards of broken glass
Massage
Acupuncture
Chiropractic Adjustments
What?
Yes!
It’s possible that I have the tightest hamstrings on the planet. These are kind of important muscles for running. I have a medical team tending to my hammies and every other ache and pain
Course Difficulty
Very Difficult
Relatively Easy
26.2 miles is a lot of miles. I can barely drive that distance. It’s going to hurt regardless of course difficulty
Physical Issues
Nothing Major
A lot
I’m old

 Make your donation today, select a time, and let’s end blindness! Thank you in advance for your support.

OMT

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