Meet the athletes - Omer Karp
We present Omer Karp, a 52 year old consultant from Israel, going for his first black shirt at Norseman!
Tell us about yourself. Where are you from and what do you do.
My name is Omer Karp. I live in Israel in a small place called Kochav-Yair. I am 52 years old, married with 3 kids, ages 25, 22 and 16. I work as a consultant to companies in the electronics industry.
What is your background in sports?
As a teenager I played water-polo. Around the age of 25 I started to run, but it really got serious only at the age of 42, and two years later I started training for triathlon also. So far I have raced in 8 marathons, 3 Ironman competitions and 3 Ultra-marathons including the famous Comrades in South-Africa. Last year I did the Israman (Ironman) in Eilat in winds which reached 100KM per hour at some point of the bike leg. It was really frightening.
Why did you choose to race Norseman and what is your race goal?
Few years ago I read an article in one of the Israeli running and triathlon web sites about three Israelis who participated in the Norseman and that got me interested in participating also. My race goal is to finish the Norseman and get the black shirt.
Asides from Norseman, what is your other plans for the 2010 season?
I just did the Tiberias marathon a couple of weeks ago, so I guess that Norseman will be my only additional long distance competition for this year. I will probably participate in the Eilat Triathlon in November.
Do you do any special training for Norseman? Riding a lot of hills? Swimming in cold water etc? Or is it basic but intense and hard Ironman training?
I didn’t start yet the training for the Norseman, but I plan to do my usual Ironman training plan only with more hills both on the bike and in running. I don’t plan to do any cold water swimming (and even if I planned I am not sure that I can find any in Israel).
What other races would you like to compete in the future?
I don’t know yet, but I am sure I will look for additional extreme events, either ultra marathons or Ironman type.
What are your favorite places to train?
Usually I train next to my home in order to save on transportation time. Whenever we are travelling I like to run, so I had many wonderful runs all around the world (including Norway in 2001).
And your favorite workout?
I prefer the long distance runs, although I also like long bike rides. I am usually bored at the pool.
By Jørgen