Ford Palmer

Last updated
Ford Palmer
Ford Palmer.jpg
Personal information
Nationality American
Born (1990-10-06) October 6, 1990 (age 33)
Atlantic County, New Jersey
Sport
Sport Track
Event(s) 1500 meters, mile
College team Monmouth
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 1500m : 3:36.98 [1]
Mile : 3:54.92i [1] 1
Updated on September 17, 2017

Ford Palmer (born October 6, 1990) is a professional middle-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 meters and the mile. He ran in the men's 1500 meters at the 2016 US Olympic Trials. [2]

Contents

Running career

High school

Palmer attended Absegami High School in Galloway Township, New Jersey, where he played as a linebacker for the school's football team. [3] Outside of football season, Palmer ran on Absegami's track team as an 800 meter runner. However, after suffering a total of four concussions over the course of high school, he gave up football in order to focus on running. [3] At New Jersey's 2009 Meet of Champions, Palmer placed third overall in the boys' 800 meter race in a time of 1:52.24, his best result in high school. [3]

Collegiate

Palmer attended and ran track at Monmouth University, where he was coached by Chris Tarello. [4] After graduating from high school, Palmer's weight at one point was as high as 205 pounds. [3] In his first two seasons at Monmouth, his training volume was considerably low at 25 miles of running per week. [3] As a junior, a physical check-up revealed that Palmer had high blood pressure. [4] After the diagnosis, he watched Forks Over Knives , after which he began a pescetarian diet, which he maintained for a year. [4] Subsequently, he tried a vegetarian diet, after which he fully transitioned into a vegan in 2011. [4] By the end of Palmer's senior year at Monmouth, he not only changed his diet but also lost 51 pounds [3] and recorded a mile time of 4:00.4. [5]

Post-collegiate

After graduating from Monmouth in 2013, Palmer began working as a bartender while training under coach Frank Gagliano with New Jersey New York Track Club. [4] In early 2014, he was close to quitting the sport as he worked some overnight bar shifts in order to support himself. [4] He made a career breakthrough on August 1, 2014, when he won the Sir Walter Miler in 3:57.61, his first ever mile under four minutes. [6] In January 2015, Palmer signed a professional contract with Hoka One One. [5] The following year, he raced in the men's 1500 meters at the 2016 US Olympic Trials, but did not progress beyond the first heat. [2]

Palmer has divided his time living with his mother in Galloway Township and his father in Upper Township, New Jersey. [7]

Notes

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References

  1. 1 2 "Ford PALMER - Athlete Profile". IAAF .
  2. 1 2 Andrew Grief (July 7, 2016). "The Oregonian: Usual suspects advance in Olympic trials 1,500 prelims, but surprises Wheating, Maton follow, too" . Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Michael McGarry (July 19, 2014). "Press of Atlantic City: Former Absegami High School runner Ford Palmer chases 4-minute mark in mile" . Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Christopher Chavez (July 16, 2014). "ESPN: Palmer making a name in track" . Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Taylor Dutch (January 9, 2015). "FloTrack: Hoka One One Signs Ford Palmer" . Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  6. Jim Lambert (August 1, 2014). "nj.com: New Jersey's Ford Palmer finally goes sub 4 in the mile after several near misses" . Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  7. McGarry, Michael. "Former Absegami High School runner Ford Palmer chases 4-minute mark in mile", The Press of Atlantic City , July 19, 2014. Accessed September 27, 2017. "Palmer's mother, Gina, lives in Galloway Township, while his father lives in Upper Township. He splits his time between both homes."