Ohio University Southern invites the public to spend an evening with Olympic gold medal winner Frank Shorter on Thursday. Shorter will speak from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Bowman Auditorium.

“The main message for students or anyone in the community is simple,” Shorter said. “If you can find something that you can do to take a break from anything going on in your life then it can really help you.”

Shorter’s message will consist of a life lesson that extends beyond sports.

“It is really good to set your ultimate goals really high but realize that you should only have it in the back of your mind.” he said. Along the way, be satisfied and look to achieve incremental goals as you are preceding through life.”

The presentation will also bridge the gap between a student and an athlete by demonstrating the meaning of student athlete.

“Academics come first,” Shorter said. “Two is athletic success. If it’s going to happen, it only happens for a few, ultimately at the highest level. So along the way, take advantage of the athletic success and what it can do for you academically.”

Immediately after the speech, there will be an open reception in the Riffe building. There will be opportunities for pictures and autographs.

Shorter is by all accounts the father of the modern running boom. He spins a captivating narrative about winning the 1972 Olympic marathon. He also leads the fight against illegal doping and most recently about his father’s physical abuse, which ultimately defined him as a runner and a man.

“It (running) was a physical and mental way of coping,” Shorter said. “No matter how bad things may be, if you focus on things still under your control, then you can use that as a life line.”