For most people who run, completing a marathon is the ultimate accomplishment. For Pasadena Police Department Officer Donald Sevesind, completing a marathon meant that he had 99 more to go.
He set out to become the youngest full-time police officer to complete 100 full marathons and 100 half marathons
For most people who run, completing a marathon is the ultimate accomplishment. For Pasadena Police Department Officer Donald Sevesind, completing a marathon meant that he had 99 more to go.
Sevesind set out to become the youngest full-time police officer to complete 100 full marathons and 100 half marathons. So far, he has completed 123 halfs and 99 fulls—only one race away from the Guinness Book of World Records. The 43-year-old ran his first marathon (the L.A. Marathon) in 1991 at the age of 16, and hasn’t he slowed down since.
“I had no idea what I was getting myself into by trying to complete such a distance,” Sevesind told Men's Health. “But I loved running and racing so much, I set out to achieve this impossible goal.”
Impossible? No. But running 100 marathons and 100 half marathons in the matter of a few decades has certainly posed its challenges. Sevesind works as a full time police officer and runs races in his full uniform.
“I would never have thought that when I became a police officer, I would attempt to run a long distance in my full police uniform,” he says. “I have to say it has been one of the most difficult things I have ever attempted. If you can imagine running with an extra 30 pounds on your body, adjusting your running form due to work boots that do not have any flexibility, and struggling to take a full breath because your police vest constricts your breathing, that’s what it feels like running in a Full Class A uniform.”
That’s certainly not the most ideal situation to be in, especially when you’re running races such as the Running With the Devil Marathon in Henderson, Nevada.
“It was the most intense — as well as insane — race I have ever run,” Sevesind says. “Imagine running on a two lane asphalt road, in the middle of June, with a start time close to 10 a.m., and the temperature exceeding 105 degrees. That was my experience that day. It was an awesome but crazy — and given the chance, I'd go run it again.”
Sevesind credits consistent training and incorporating varied workouts as the reason he has been able to stay healthy and compete. “I’m a true believer in incorporating other training programs into my workouts—not only for running, but for an overall healthy lifestyle,” Sevesind says. “I believe one of the most important programs that any athlete can to do is the warm-up and stretching routine before any kind of rigorous training. I also include elliptical and treadmill workouts as alternate forms of workouts.”
To help preserve his knees on longer runs, Sevesind says he puts in miles on the indoor track at his gym to help absorb the hard impact on my legs, as opposed to running on the streets. “I incorporate more cross training in my routine compared to a dedicated runner logging an insane amount of miles per week. It seems to work for me,” he says.
And no matter what, he gets a workout in every day — even if it’s a quickie. “A police officer's work schedule is not the typical 9 to 5 job,” he explains. “It can be difficult at times to try and get a run in or plan a workout with family or friends because of my work schedule. But I use running as a stress reliever and try to include a workout, however small, every day.”
And now that he’s only got 26.2 miles to go before he grabs the world record he’s striving for, Sevesind has his eyes set on L.A. “For my 100th Marathon, I’m going back to where it all started — the 2018 Los Angeles Marathon. It’s where I got ‘bit by the marathon bug’ and my it’s been my most favorite marathon to date.”
For his final marathon, he plans to wear his uniform as his way in honoring fallen police officers that were killed in the line of duty. He will also be raising money for two police organizations: Pasadena Police Activities League and the California Peace Officer's Memorial Foundation. “It’s my way to ‘give back’ to the community I serve,” he explains.
While reflecting on how far he’s come (literally, 4,205.1 miles while racing), Sevesind offtered words of encouragement not only for other runners, but anyone else who wants to push themselves physically. If I could tell everybody out there, runners and non-runners alike, to pick a goal that is attainable and to pursue that goal to a certain point, I think that’s what I’d want to leave them with. Just keep picking goals that only you can achieve and never let anybody tell you that this goal is unreachable.”
Guy Smarts: This 43-year-old police officer is about to break a world record in marathon running
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