ABOVE: Fr. O’Connor runs the Ironman with the famed Lake Placid Ski Jump tower in the background.
B’ville pastor takes on Lake Placid … again!
By Dc. Tom Cuskey, editor
The cycling event is sandwiched in between the swim and the marathon. (c)Timothy F Hanna
This story’s headline adheres to the template of the Lake Placid version of the competition’s online home. It is IRONMAN, all capital letters. Big. Bold. Just like those who dare to enter.
Well, bold anyway. No one consistently prepares for a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike trek and then a 26.2-mile marathon run through the Adirondack Mountains and is ‘big’ as we might think of it. Downright slender comes to mind, especially when you meet the Diocese of Syracuse’s ordained Ironman.
Father Joseph O’Connor, pastor, seminarian director and IRONMAN, again, in 2024.
“You know, I said, coming across the finish line in 2011, ‘That was awesome!. I want to do another one.’” Thirteen years later, Fr. Joseph O’Connor made good on that, but adds, “I’ll have you know, I was very careful not to say that this year as I finished.”
The pastor of the three Baldwinsville parishes and diocesan director of seminarians did not exactly spend the interim Ironman years eating bon-bons and watching TV. He swims some, yes, and has been spotted on his bike, but he publicly often runs through the greater B’ville area. To keep it interesting, he sometimes challenges parishioners to pledge dollars and prayers per mile to help make Hope Appeal goals, raise funds and awareness for various parish ministries and to simply celebrate all things Catholic. Often, parishioners of all ages will join in as he crosses their neighborhood streets.
So, for such an active person, what caused a 13-year gap between Ironman 1 and Ironman 2? Life did. The life of the shepherd of a large, active parish in Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (SEAS). Couple that with a significant number of diocesan duties through those years and one has a schematic for another kind of Ironman: the clerical collar, Man in Black, lots of work and little play kind of superhero.
Fr. Joe crosses the finish line some 13 hours after the start.
So why did Father Joe take the green light this year?
“I spoke with a parishioner — she herself is a great athlete, a long-distance runner,” he said, adding that he told her he wanted to compete again, but also knew that his future is only going to get busier. “She said ‘Do it now, do it right now. Sign up, stop thinking about it. Sign up!’”
And so he did. And, as predicted, life got busier. The pastoral announcements made earlier this summer included the addition of the other two Baldwinsville parishes — St. Mary of the Assumption and St. Augustine — to his pastorate. But by then, he was well into training mode and his preparations continued through his first official month of guiding a trio of parishes leading up to race day. His parishes were his biggest cheerleaders.
“I have to give credit to the staff,” he said. Support came via prayers and encouraging words. “It was really timed well with the announcement of the Baldwinsville parishes coming together. [It] was kind of playful and fun — triathlete is ready for three parishes — and so it really became a good way, I think, for the new parishes to get to know me a little bit.”
Running for a life
Race day took on another dimension that all the hard work and training did not prepare Fr. Joe for. While focusing, literally, on the road ahead, thoughts of a close friend were also racing through his mind.
Team O’Connor provided cheers and support throughout the day. Q: how many priests can you identify?
Deacon Bill Dotterer, the longest tenured active deacon in the diocese at 45 years of service, was back at home, actively moving along his own path towards a peaceful passing and going home to the Lord. Father Joe and Deacon Bill were close partners in ministry, a bond that became stronger following the death of Bill’s wife in 2018. Always a hard worker in ministry, Dotterer stepped up his activity level even more, filling the void in his life with the love and support of the SEAS congregation. Fr. Joe was a big fan of Deacon Bill, and that love helped fuel the day at Lake Placid.
“The hardest moments … was a pain or cramps or something happening intentionally to say then, ‘okay, you know, I want to link this to the souls in purgatory or whoever [in] my parish is struggling the most.’ Deacon Bill was so on my mind and heart that day, I just said, okay, Lord, I’m gonna give him my hardest miles. You know, sure enough, that was his last day on earth. It was beautiful to feel connected to him.”
Father’s family, close friends and even some brother priests were on hand to cheer on their favorite triathlete. For the record, Fr. Joe finished in the upper 50% of every grouping: men only, his age and gender group, and overall participants. At 13 hours, 25 minutes and 49 seconds, he was about a half hour behind his 2011 performance. That is an excellent showing in a sport where the focus is more on finishing the trek than setting records.
He did, however, have a leg up on the competition, thanks to a Saturday evening vigil Lake Placid invite.
“At St. Agnes church, the pastor asked me to celebrate and preach. [The pastor] invites all those who are going to race the next day to come forward for a blessing. There’s about 40 or 50 of us in the sanctuary. It’s really a cool, cool moment.”
A cool, cool moment for a very cool, cool man.
