WSTR News

WS Finale XVII Ropers Sean Lehane & Partner Todd Overstreet Run in London

Many times, promises made in the practice pen over a few beers are regretted the next day. However, when Sean Lehane, an avid marathon runner, told his roping partner Todd Overstreet that he was thinking about running the 2023 London Marathon, Todd enthusiastically agreed to run with him. 

"If you're in, I'm in," Todd told Sean, and sure enough, Todd held to that promise.

Todd's one condition was to be able to run the marathon in his straw cowboy hat.

"I don't think he believed me, until we started to train together, and I was wearing my old Resistol hat. After that, Sean had cowboy hat envy and decided to run in one too," Todd said.

Dustin Noblitt, the CEO of the Pro Equine Group, a friend of Todd's, was thrilled they would run wearing Resistol's and offered the logo to add on their running shirts.

"I didn't know there was such thing as a running shirt," Todd said, "but Sean thought it was a great idea and reached out to you all for the WSTR logo and, what do you know, we had our official cowboy running shirts to wear in the marathon."

Sean and Todd became somewhat of a spectacle in London in their shirts and cowboy hats, as not many British people had been around or seen cowboys. 

 "We had like a whole different fan base all the way thru the race, and we especially enjoyed the kids. There would be a group of school kids watching and saying in their British accents, 'look mum, look at the cowboys!' Honestly, that made it. We would have been just another couple of knuckle heads running the marathon if not for that distinction," Todd said.

"To finish, we had to run by Buckingham Palace as it was preparing for the coronation of the King, so there were tons of people around, and you could hear on the loudspeaker, 'here come the cowboys!' It was like we were two unicorns in the crowd, when in our world, it's so normal."

Todd, a defense attorney based out of Houston, is no stranger to running, despite this being his first marathon. Todd was a Division One college track star, running all four years at the University of Southern California.

"Coming from Amarillo, Texas, it was quite an interesting immersion into a culture I knew nothing about," Todd explained. "It was such a disaster my first year there. When I got to downtown Los Angeles and pulled up in my pickup truck and my gun rack, even the football coach said, 'what is this guy doing here? Who brought this guy into this place?'"

Todd was humble about his athletic prowess, but Sean knows the story a little different.

"That guy set all sorts of records at USC, he was a big deal," Sean describes.

To mess with Todd's serious competitive side, Sean had a prank lined up for the marathon that was sure to get under the track star's skin.

 "We get to the start line, and the race is set to begin and all of a sudden Sean acts like he ties his shoe. Well, I had already crossed the line, which is when your time starts, and he wanted to run together so I waited on him. When we got to the finish line at the same time, he was exactly one second faster than I was. He's been telling everyone he beat me," Todd laughed.

Sean describes it as part of the initiation process.

"My brother did that to me for my first marathon. It will be in the history books for the rest of our lives, that I beat the track star by one second, our great grandkids will see this," Sean joked.

He added, "This was supposed to be his only marathon, but he's so competitive, he will probably run another one just to beat me."

Sean, although not a track star, is an athlete in his own right, as he has been a marathon runner for 11 years. After realizing that work and kids had taken over his life, he said that running became a necessity.

"I was very out of shape and was starting to have back problems. I lost all the feeling in my right leg, and as the sole provider of my family, I knew I needed to get my act together."

Sean sells spine implants for a living and did not want to be a patient of his own products.

"I just couldn't seem to find the time to work out. My hours are different at work, sometimes I'm off early afternoon, and sometimes I'm working all night, so my problem was I couldn't commit to everyday," Sean explained.

 "I met a guy that I hired as a fitness trainer, and he asked what I was doing at 4:30. I said, '4:30 am? I'm asleep!' And he told me, 'not anymore you're not!' So, I worked out six days a week from 4:30 am to 5:30am for about a year and a half."

Believing he was in the best shape of his life, Sean wanted to test it, so he signed up for the Iron Man Distance Triathlon, which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and concludes with a marathon. However, six weeks before the event, tragedy struck.

"I got hit by a schoolteacher texting in a minivan. It put me in the ICU, and one of the most remarkable things about that kind of training, is you heal very quickly. I had shattered my pelvis, broke nine ribs, punctured a lung, but I was still able to enter and finish the race. I couldn't run so I limped the 26.2 miles," said Sean.

Because of the experience he had in the Iron Man, marathons are a walk in the park for him.

"When I look at marathons now, they are nothing compared to the Iron Man. But after the accident I didn't quite train as hard, but I still ran.  I grew up roping in high school, and so I replaced some of my prior training time by picking up a rope.  I love to rope." Sean said.

 "I always tell people I could go play 18 holes of golf and go back to work and never think about the golf game, but when I go to a World Series qualifier, I come home and lay in bed and think about selling everything, because this is all I want to do, I am just addicted to it," Sean explained.

Even while focusing more on team roping, he still runs to keep in shape.

"I enjoy both, and I know running helps my roping. A friend of mine suggested I take on the Big 6. They are marathons in New York, London, Chicago, Tokyo, Berlin, and Boston. I've done New York and obviously the London with Todd. I'm going to try to hit them all, but it's a big commitment, along with everything else I have going on," he said.

Sean and Todd met one another through the trail riding organization called the Tejas Vaqueros. They both had moved their horses to a roping club in Houston, and because their horses are together, a group of them rope at least three times a week, and Todd and Sean became fast friends.

"I took Todd to his very first World Series team roping in San Antonio and it blew his mind. He's an elite athlete, and even though he wasn't a very accomplished competitive team roper, he grew up ranching and working cattle, a working cowboy." Sean continued, "Todd couldn't believe that there would be that many amazing horses, and when I started to describe the handicap system, he was hooked."

"I have been to the Finale, but Todd has never been, it's literally the most fun I've ever had, I can't wait. I've never had a steady, reliable partner to practice with in the past, but I finally have one with Todd. We are entered in the #9.5 and #8.5 divisions at the Finale this year," said Sean.

Todd said he is ready to compete, but said, "I definitely don't want to be a one trick pony.  I told Sean, you better get your act together, because I don't want to be the cowboys that they only know for running, I want to be the cowboys they know for roping and winning the Finale."