Your name and role in the Steeplechasers. Larry O’Hara, Steeplechasers member and also member of the Steeps Elite Racing Team.
How long have you been a member? How long have you been in this role? I have been a member of the Steeps with my wife Heidi and our two daughters (Lily and Lucy) since 2023. I have been a member of the Steeps Elite Racing Team since July 2025.
Are you training for anything in particular right now? I am training for the RRCA 10mi Club Challenge in February, the Nike Indoor Nationals Coaches Mile in March, and the Frederick Half Marathon in May.
Do you have any running partners? I coach locally at Gov. Thomas Johnson HS, and I often run with the boys and girls distance teams. I also join the Red Truck Running group when I can in the mornings at 5:30am in Baker Park. They’re a great, supportive group that always has a positive attitude towards hard work. I also love going on neighborhood runs and doing local races with my wife and daughters. We especially love competing in the Summer Decathlon together along with our nephew, Lawrence.
Tell us a little bit about your role in the Steeplechasers. As a coach and a parent, I try to take the role of promoting the Steeplechasers, and the sport of running, as a lifelong sport. I, myself, did not start running until my sophomore year of High School. I began running cross country as a way to get into shape for the upcoming basketball season. I quickly fell in love with the connection between hard work and improvement and am happy to still be part of the running community to this day as both a runner and as a coach. As a member of the Steeps Elite Racing Team, I try to represent our local club in the Regional level and show that no matter your age, you can continue to compete and inspire those around you.
What’s your favorite part about running? I enjoy seeing people fall in love with the sport, as it has so much to give. I greatly enjoy seeing people recognize both the physical and mental well-being and the community that running can bring. People find their way into running for many reasons, but regardless of the reason, people often find that you get out of it what you put into it and you can meet some wonderful, supportive people along the way. I encourage my family and members of the Gov. Thomas Johnson team to join the Steeps for local runs, especially the Summer Decathlon competition. They get to see both the benefits of weekly racing/training but also see how they can help provide these opportunities for others by bringing popsicles, collecting times, and cheering on others. Overall, I love seeing the Frederick running community grow and being a part of the Steeplechasers allows me to see so many opportunities to help that growth.
If you could impart one piece of wisdom to the Steeps, what would it be? Adopt the mindset of “Delayed Gratification”. In our world now, many of us are trained to expect immediate results. Progress in running is never linear. It has improvements, plateaus, setbacks, etc. Having the mindset of delayed gratification helps you focus on today’s run and how the benefit from this run may not be immediately evident, but it will pay off somewhere down the road. Delayed gratification also helps you justify getting up early or going out in rough weather to put in work. Overall, this mindset can help develop good habits that will work their way into your daily life as well.