Damien Brandon

Longtime runner promotes healthy lifestyle for kids

A former cross-country and track star at Westerville South High School, Damien Brandon knew from a young age that he someday wanted to be a coach and teacher. But not until he was hired at Wilson Hill Middle School in Newark eight years ago did he realize the amount of teaching he would do outside the classroom.

Brandon conquered the ultimate test of speed and strength when he won the Arnold 5K Pump & Run in 2007. Brandon bench-pressed his body weight (155 pounds) the maximum 30 times, then ran the 3.1-mile Downtown road course in 17:36 for a net time of 2:36. (Competitors’ race times are reduced 30 seconds for each time they bench-press their body weight, up to a maximum of 30 repetitions). He went on to compete in 2008 and 2009. “There is so much work in the training that it can be overwhelming at times,” Brandon said. “But the payoff last year was just great.”

Brandon returns every year to defend his title.

Brandon, who teaches American history to eighth-graders, is the co-founder of an after-school program — The Pride Program — that teaches the benefits of physical fitness to at-risk youths.

“I run that program with a buddy of mine, Jason Williams, and our goal is to raise the awareness of physical fitness with the kids,” Brandon said. “This generation of kids is extremely overweight and out of shape, and we try to make sure our at-risk kids are off the street for at least a couple of hours.”

“The nice thing about The Pride Program is that all those kids still come back every year,” Brandon said. “They’ll stop by, lift and talk to the younger kids. What is also neat is I have one or two kids a year lose 40 pounds or more. It is a total life changer for some of these kids.”

Brandon also has served as an assistant cross country coach at St. Charles Preparatory School in Bexley, Ohio and advanced to the team’s head coach position. In both roles, he has emphasized health and physical fitness while teaching the benefits of setting long-term goals.

“I try to teach the kids about long-term goals, and we talk about everything that needs to be done to reach their goals,” Brandon said. “Every day you have to do something, although you don’t always see the results automatically.”