Megan O’Neil
Women's Marathon
Qualifying Time: 2:35:32
Qualifying Race: 2022 California International Marathon
Date of Birth
06/07/96
Age on Race Day
27
Current Residence
Rochester, MI
Hometown
Stanwood, MI
High School
Chippewa Hills High School
Current Affiliation
Hansons-Brooks ODP
Profession
Software Engineer, VEST, Inc.
Marathon PB
2:35:32
First Trials qualification
Yes
Number of attempts to qualify
2
College(s)
Central Michigan University
Career Highlights
9th, 2023 CNO Financial Group Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon; 8th, 2022 Ottawa Marathon; Winner, 2019 Detroit Free Press/TCF Half Marathon; 2019 Mid American Conference 10K Champion; 2019 Mid American Conference Indoor Team Champions
Family
My dad, Bob O’Neil, created a cross country course at my high school and coached a middle school team of 5-60 runners over the course of 20 years. My mom, Patti O’Neil, has always been very supportive of such running-related endeavors and is a critical part of hosting cross country meets. She ran a 5K once, and has made it clear to the rest of us that that will never happen again. My sister, Abby, ran middle school cross country and is currently homesteading and creating a variety of art. My brother, Jake, was an all-state runner in high school and is now serving in the Navy.
Greatest Accomplishment
I’ve never trained for anything longer than I have for qualifying in the marathon. I spent about 10 months training to qualify, with one failed attempt in the middle. When I finally got to qualify, I got to do it with my teammates, which made it that much sweeter. Months later, I got to help some of my teammates who didn’t qualify train to try again.
Interesting Story
Shortly after hitting the qualifier, I had a mysterious injury that wouldn’t allow me to run for months. I’d never taken that much time off from running since I started in elementary school. During this time I leaned on my friends and church group to get me through difficult moments. This ended up leading to a lot of indoor rock climbing and boxing. I told my roommates I was going off to fight "the man" in the mornings, and it took them a couple of months to realize this wasn’t a particularly feminist take but I was literally sparring with my boxing coach.
Favorite Book
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Favorite Movie
Good Will Hunting
Favorite TV Show/Series
Naruto
Favorite Song
Party Time
Favorite Post-race Indulgence
Coffee
Favorite Breakfast
Two eggs, two toasts, two breakfast meats
Favorite Motivational Quote
"Yes!"
Favorite Running Memory
My high school team winning the state finals in track. Every person on our team had already competed in four events by the time the 4x4 came around, except two of our throwers, and we had one empty spot. My friend Erin, who 10 years later is down here watching the Trials as well as coaching track, said she would run it. Erin didn’t have running spikes because she didn’t normally run, so I took mine off and gave them to her. The entire team wrapped the track to cheer for her. She then proceeded to PR by 10 seconds in the 400 to become one of the best 400 runners on our team, and helped clinch the team victory.
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