10 Laps with Olivia de Bear

presented by The PreRacePodcast

Age: 30

Hometown: Ypsilanti, MI

Day Job: Gynecologic oncology physician assistant

1. What's your favorite place to run locally?

The Potawatomi Trail. I love getting figuratively and literally lost in those woods. This year Jesse Sweeney and I got lucky and hit peak fall colors. We spent over 2.5 hours running the trails. It was magical.

2. Craziest thing to happen to you while running?

While running on the shoulder of Huron River Drive, a car hit a flying bird and the (now) dead bird bounced off the car and almost hit me. It required a small hop to avoid getting hit.

3. Best place for coffee after a run?

Hyperion Coffee in Ypsilanti has the best post-run vibe, selection, and staff!

4. Favorite workout?

I really, really enjoy kilometer repeats off the track and on a biking/running path such as the Border2Border. They seem to tick by super fast and I can always find my rhythm with kilometer repeats.

5. Best TV show you've watched this year?

I don't watch much TV, I would say Stranger Things Season 4 or repeats of Outlander Season 1. I'm going to instead plug my favorite book of the year. It is called "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah. It pulled at my damn heart strings and left me with such a book hangover for many days that I had trouble picking out my next book!

6. Conspiracy theory you subscribe to?

Aliens.

7. Do you have any race day superstitions?

Before any long-er distance race such as a half marathon or a full marathon, I must have my blueberry pancakes.

8. What motivates you to run?

More than anything I run for my health and community. I run because it clears my mind and sets up my day for success. I run to do something challenging every single day which makes daily tasks and projects seem trivial. I run for/with the community because I find running brings out this rainbow of emotions in people and develops some of the strongest camaraderie and lifelong friendships.

9. PR you are most proud of?

I have to pick two of my most accomplished races. Race #1 was the Detroit Half Marathon in 2018, where I was six months after back surgery and walking/jogging but certainly not "training". I was told I would never run again due to a back injury I sustained while in West Africa. Instead, I had an amazing race and ran 1:32:xx.

Race #2 was CIM 2021, I was coming out of running retirement and I ran my marathon PR of 3:07:22. What made this race special were the friends I made on the shuttle to the start line. I met a group of runners that train together in LA. We paired up and ran most of the race together until I hit "the wall". My new friend, Chris, ended up smashing his sub-3 goal that day. We are still friends on Strava to this day!

10. One thing that most Bandits don't know about you?

Everyone knows about my pre-pandemic plant hobby so instead I'll let folks know I enjoy amateur photography, reading and writing.