Faces of the Valley: Harrison's David Bowser ready to run at Florida's National Senior Games

David Bowser was in his mid-40s before he laced up his first pair of running shoes.

The Harrison resident, now 71, hasn’t stopped hitting the pavement, the treadmill or the trails ever since.

“Back in 1995, my son went out for cross country at Highlands,” Bowser said. “I started to go and take highlight videos and before long, the coach asked me if I wanted to help.

“I couldn’t expect the kids to do anything I wouldn’t do, so I started training.”

He served as the district’s assistant cross country coach for more than 15 years.

Bowser also has run hundreds of local road and trail races, including The Great Race, The Jingle Bell and The Shamrock Shuffle, among countless others across the country.

He’s gearing up to compete in the prestigious National Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from May 10-23. He made the cut in a Delaware qualifying race in the fall.

“It’s really gotten into my blood,” he said. “It’s like I always told the kids — train your best to know that when you’re in the race, you’re giving your best.

“Win or not, by doing that, you’re a winner.”

Bowser remains dedicated to his passion year-round. He said he has been running outdoors all winter, no matter the elements.

Though a treadmill sits in his living room near shelves full of trophies and medals, it doesn’t offer the same experience, he said.

Tawnya Panizzi | Tribune-Review

David Bowser, 71, of Harrison has earned various medals and trophies for running. Among his favorite are these from the National Senior Games in Houston in 2011.

A self-employed window cleaner, Bowser had a nomadic childhood. He moved up and down the Allegheny River to wherever his father’s coal mining job demanded.

“I went to third grade in three different districts,” he said. “We finally settled in Fawn and stayed.”

Bowser graduated from Highlands and married. He and his wife, Catherine, set up a home with a view of the Allegheny River in the township’s Natrona section. They moved a few years later to Spruce Street, also in Natrona, and have lived there ever since.

Because of his job cleaning residential and business windows, Bowser has become a familiar face to people throughout the region. It was during one of his jobs at a Harrison church that he nearly lost his life.

In August 2003, he was three stories up on a ladder when a wind gust forced him away from the building. He fell to the ground and broke several ribs. He was transported by medical helicopter in grave condition, said his daughter, Jennifer Conocchia.

“The doctors said if his heart wasn’t so strong from running, he may not have made it,” she said.

“For a moment in time, his life was on pause. No working, no coaching, just months of rehab. But my dad is not a quitter. I knew he was going to make a comeback, and he did.”

In 2017, Bowser’s health was tested again when a medical condition required him to have a pacemaker installed.

“He was under doctors’ orders for a while to take it easy. Again, after several months, he began running again,” Conocchia said.

She is rooting for her father to bring home more gold medals next month when he competes in a 5K race May 10 and then a 10K the following week.

Bowser is hoping for a repeat trip to the podium at the National Senior Games — he participated previously in the 2011 Texas games, where he fared well against competition from across the country.

“It’s funny the way that running snowballed for me,” he said. “I loved working with the kids, and now it’s part of my whole life.”