Meet the Athlete: Timothy Meyer
Name: Timothy Meyer
Age: 37
Hometown: Denison, IA
Current residence: Lincoln, NE
Occupation/Degree you are working towards:
UNL Ag Econ Professor
Education:
High School: Denison High School
College: Buena Vista University
Graduate: Master’s: Iowa State University Doctoral: University of St. Thomas
What is your running background?
It started at the Dogpatch Relays of 1990. I was a 4th grader and after getting lapped in the 600 yard run (4 laps of our painted track), I cried, a lot. That’s where the chip on my shoulder originated. Plus, my mom showed her love through food, so I was a tubbo in those early years. “Hercules! Hercules!”
I was an average HS XC runner, breaking 19 minutes 3-4 times and 18 minutes once. I played tennis in college.
Favorite distance to run?: 5K
What are your future running goals? PR in the mile, 10k and Half Marathon. Those three are my softest PRs
I can’t run without…Daydreaming/Solving the world’s problems. Or at least figuring out what I’m going to lecture about the next day. Sometimes I dream about winning the World Series, or if I’m ever going to break down and buy a dishwasher.
Do you do anything to stay injury free?
A 3-4 minute Yoga routine. I think Yoga is underrated due to its name. Calling it “advanced dynamic stretching” would play well with Republicans, I think.
What is your favorite race you have competed in the past?
Newport-Mesa Spirit Run 5k/10k. Special shout-out to the Rust Buster 5k a few weeks ago. John Cleary and Nolan Border led the way to help me nab a PR for 2019.
Also, “winning” the team title at the Briar Cliff XC invite two years ago.
Do you have any advice to other runners?
Get out the door, every day. The rest is easy.
What are your PRs?
800: 2:17
Mile: 4:39
3K: 8:53
5K: 15:26
8K: 25:37
10K: 33:09
Half Marathon: 1:13:19
Marathon: You’d have to be nuts to run that far
How long have you been an LRC-Nebraska member?
2.5 years
What excites you the most about being an LRC-Nebraska athlete?
Having a group of people to run with that push me physically and mentally.
What does a typical training week look like for you? Walk us through your daily routine (training related and otherwise):
I start my day by eating 4 apples, 4 carrots, and 4 stalks of celery. Then I poop. Typically I run over lunch with Big (Kelly H) and Tall (Andrew Jacob). There’s a secret shower/locker room in my building, so that’s pretty cool. It was broken when I got to UNL, but after eating lunch with the maintenance guys for about a year, I felt comfortable to ask them to fix it. Thanks Sean!
Anyway, I run an hour a day. Usually I “hammer’ one day/week and try to go long (12+) one day per week.
Just prior to going to bed, I binge on skittles. They’re magical. I go to bed at 10pm. Usually I play 3-4 games of handheld Yahtzee to calm my nerves. Then I dream about stuff too weird to print/admit.
We all approach training and racing differently, so tell us what your short-term and long-term goals are with running:
Short term goals: Get back to 100% health. I’ve had nagging injuries that haven’t stopped me from running for years, so I’m going to try to build my body to be more injury resistant so that I can handle the mileage Kelly and Andrew peer-pressure me into running.
Long Term goals: Not have a heart attack until I’m at least 60.
Where are your 3 favorite places to do long runs at the moment?
Jamaica
Mopac
I’m sick of Rock Island.