Those who take it quite seriously.
And those who want to post a good time but also want to have some “good times,” too.
In other words, enjoy the experience, take in all the sights and sounds and smells and then share a laugh or two after crossing the finish line.
Count Jordan O’Neill among the latter group.
The graduate of Neshaminy High School and Rider University ran just about all of the recent 13.1-mile Philadelphia Distance Run with a smile on her face.
And when she stopped the clock at one hour, 23 minutes and seven seconds in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, good for second place out of 199 in her 20-24 age group and 26th overall female out of 1,775, she even enjoyed a giggle or two.
This habit of enjoying herself while cranking out speedy miles began way back in seventh grade when her running career began.
“I was like the person who would always dance around before starting, talking to people on the line,” she said during a recent telephone interview. “I never got too serious about it. Like in general life, I’m always having fun. If you take it too seriously, you lose the fun in it. I started running because I thought it was fun. So I want to keep it fun.”
O’Neill, 23, entered her first half-marathon with the intention of finding out how it felt to be taken out of one’s comfort zone. It’s a lot different than a 5K, a 10K or even a 10-miler.
“I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do that day,” she said. “After about a mile I thought I was like I’m just going to have fun. But I think I just can’t help myself. I just started going fast.”
Keeping things light has been a staple of O’Neill’s game from always as far back as she can remember.
Even her first memories of joining the sport provide some humor. Crazy as it sounds, initially she had no interest in distance running.
“When I started in seventh grade I thought I could do long jump,” she said. “Like I never wanted to run distance. We did a practice where you practice long jump and I couldn’t jump at all. They were like, you have to go with the distance team. This is all you can do. So I kind of got forced into distance.”
As much as she likes cross country, the track had its own special appeal.
“I liked track better because I liked going around the oval and seeing my time every time,” she said. “But I also liked cross country because I would say I was definitely better at longer distance.
“In college you could do the 10K. I liked the long distance track races the best throughout high school and college.”
At Neshaminy she made it to the PIAA state cross country championship meet her junior and senior years. But just getting there was half the pleasure.
“That (district qualifying meet) was always a lot of fun,” she said. “I always felt like that states were a celebration of having a good season. Because I wouldn’t say those were even my best races. The district meets getting into states were my better races.”
At Rider, O’Neill prospered in coach Bob Hamer’s somewhat unique approach.
“When I spoke to coach Hamer, he had a real individualized training plan for everyone which I really appreciated,” she said. “Because despite being able to run like half-marathon distances pretty fast, I really can’t handle high mileage.
“I just felt like a lot of the programs that would want you to do a 10K, expected you to run high mileage. My coach had me do a lot of cross-training on the eliptical and things like that. I felt like that was really important to me.”
O’Neill graduated with a degree in psychology and later earned her masters in in organizational leadership
Next August she will be heading to New York City to begin a career in human resources at UBS Bank.
With possibly a pro track career on the side.
“I haven’t spoken to anyone yet,” she said. “There are a couple races in December and January I hope to run really fast and maybe that will open up some doors.”
She has a personal record 16:48 5K to her credit and holds the Rider University record in the 3,000 meters.
After the power half, is there a marathon in her future?
“I think I do want to do a marathon,” she said. “I find myself really enjoying the half-marathon because you can go super-fast.”
Regardless of the event distance, she plans to keep running as an adult.
“I like the routine of it,” she said. “I wake up really early and get my run in. Then I tell everyone I got my run in. I like that it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something for the day. I feel like if I am stressed out, I can go for a run.
“It’s especially good when I need to think. Go for a long run.”
Races like Philadelphia show O’Neill she has even more potential.
“I started the race like this is just going to be for fun,” she said. “I’m just here to have fun. Then my competitive side took over. I wasn’t planning on doing anything like that. I was definitely surprised.”
In a way, though, not surprising. When she’s smiling for more than an hour or so, good times are bound to happen.>Other notable performances
In addition to O’Neill, there were a number of other outstanding performances by Bucks County runners.
Morrisville’s Alex Carideo finished 12th overall in 1:08.11. He was sixth out of 128 in the 25-29 age division.
Timothy Hooper of Newtown clocked in at 1:27.57. He was second in the 50-54 bracket out of 147.
Feasterville-Trevose’s Allyson Thompson recorded a time of 1:34.47, good for second place out of 141 runners in the 45-49 competition.
Bob Boland of Warrington took second place out of 40 in the 65-69 division with a time of 1:37.28.
Langhorne’s Jim Larson checked in at 1:38.08, placing him 13th out 83 in the 60-64 set.
Morrisville’s Pete Carideo (Alex’s dad) clocked in at xxx to take fourth out of 40 in the 65-69 division.
Yardley’s John Wheeler ran a 1:40.43 in the 55-59 competition.
Nicole Sexton of Doylestown placed second out of 81 in the 55-59 bracket with a 1:44.10.
Other top efforts:
>MEN
Cameron Erhardt, Bristol, 30-34, 1:16:50 (70th overall); Matthew Dandrea, Doylestown, 30-34, 1:21.31 (146th overall); David Nolan, Doylestown, 30-34, 1:23.24 (171st overall); Andrew Brenner, Warminster, 1:29.03 (296th overall); Andrew Keenan, Doylestown, 45-49, 1:29.11 (303rd overall); Wendell Smith, Feasterville-Trevose, 50-54, 1:29.15 (307th overall).
>WOMEN
Christina Moore, Feasterville-Trevose, 30-34, 1:27.08 (230th overall); Devin Coen, Furlong, 40-44, 1:29.10 (302nd overall).
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>Race calendar
>Saturday
A Baby’s Breath Run for Life 5K, 9:30 a.m., Richboro. Contact www.ababysbreath.org
Brain Injury Challenge Race for Recovery 5K, 9 a.m., Richboro. Contact www.biapa.org
Dow Bristol-Croydon Operations 5K for United Way, 8 a.m, Bristol. Contact www.runsignup.com
Honor & Courage 5K, 10 a.m., Warminster. Contact www.runsignup.com
Newtown Library Walk/Run for Reading, 9 a.m, Newtown. Contact www.active.com
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