Even Steven
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Steven Palmer of Eugene, Oregon may be the fastest long-distance runner you’ve never heard of. Steven or as his two friends call him, Even Steven has OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) which has complicated his life as well as his competitive running. One of Steven’s compulsion’s is that he must have everything end in an even number. Before the affliction Steve was able to run a mile in the low 5-minute mile pace for a marathon and was well on his way to be an American Olympic Marathon runner.
Unfortunately, his OCD caused many problems on the course, you see if he hit a crack in the road, he would have to hit it twice. If he grabbed a cup of water during a race, he we would go back in the same line and have to get another cup of water from the same person. He couldn’t end the race as on an odd number which would allow him to finish first. In fact, during Olympic trials Steve was well on pace to finish third even after going through 4 different water stations twice as well as tying his shoes 6 times. However, he stopped just short of the finish line as he realized he couldn’t be third and so he waited for the next runner to cross and crossed the finish line 4th as well as with an even time. He did not qualify as a result.
The affliction has also hurt his love life as he got divorced once he realized he had only been married once. He fell in love again and once again got divorced once he realized he had only been divorced once. We reached out for comment but apparently, he doesn’t answer his phone the first time you call.
