Jason Overbaugh has spent the majority of his life serving others. His service started when he joined the US Marines as a communication specialist in 1992 and served for four years. After his time with the Marines was through, he joined the Atlanta Police Department. He has spent the last 15 years with the APD and the last 6 as a full-time SWAT Officer and Sniper.
A SWAT Sniper and a former Marine? I know, this guy is a badass, but it doesn’t stop there. When Overbaugh left the Marines, he wanted to continue to stay in shape. He started running 5ks and 10ks for fun, but those quickly turned into triathlons and Ironman races. He’s done every type of endurance race that you can think of, including four-day swims, 500-mile bike races, and triple iron man races that lasted 49 hours straight.
Not only has Overbaugh served our country and the city of Atlanta, but he also uses his endurance talents to serve the disabled when he volunteers with the Kyle Pease Foundation, which promotes success for young people with disabilities by providing assistance to meet their individual needs through sports and competition. Through the foundation, Overbaugh ran a marathon while pushing a physically-challenged athlete in a wheelchair.
Overbaugh’s efforts to serve others and his talents in endurance sports make him a great addition to the Kill Cliff Warriors. Overbaugh gave us a few minutes of his time where we got to hear more of his story.
KC: How’d you get into endurance sports?
JO: After I got out of the Marine Core, I wanted to remain in shape. I started with smaller runs like 5ks and 10ks and it gradually snowballed into triathlons and Iron Man races. I have a go-getter attitude and I’m always trying to find my limit.
KC: How do you balance your job and your active lifestyle? With a job in law enforcement I can imagine the balance is more difficult than your normal office job.
JO: It can be difficult because my hours change a lot and my off days get canceled from time-to-time. SWAT situations happen all the time so I’m always on call. All of my free time is spent working out or working on my house. I don’t play video games, watch TV, or drink alcohol. I’m not always training at a high-level, but I am always staying as active as possible.
Everyone says they’re too busy to work out but when you look at how much we sit around and do nothing, you would realize how much time you are wasting. My girlfriend and I don’t even really vacation. All our vacations are usually centered around a race. We tried to do the usual laying on a beach vacation and we were too bored.
KC: How competitive are you and your girlfriend?
JO: It’s friendly competition to support each other, but obviously we’re not cutthroat. We generally alternate training schedules so someone can keep our house and dogs in order. We talk shit to each other but it’s never personal. She’s an unbelievable athlete but I try to stay ahead of her.
KC: Do you have anything coming up that you’re competing in?
JO: We’re both training for a vacation. We’re going to Europe to do a 10-day bike ride through Italy In Switzerland. We’re going to do the same routes that all of the professional bikers do in those countries. We’re also planning on doing the Race Across the West next year, which is a 1000-mile race across the western United States. My girlfriend and I are competing as a mixed team and we plan to break the current record.
KC: What does "Kill the Quit" mean to you?
JO: That’s me and my girlfriend's motto. We always say harden up or suck it up. The feeling of victory is one hundred times better than the feeling of quitting.
