Defending champs and free cupcakes all promise to
return at 6:30 p.m. June 16 for the fourth annual Father’s Day 8K, which also offers a
Kid’s Kilometer Fun Run.
Held on a flat-and-fast, out-and-back course on the
C&O Canal Towpath in Georgetown, the GRC Racing Team-produced event has a tradition
of providing families with the perfect outing to cap the holiday. The event is
perfectly timed with Men’s Health Week, part of a month-long
campaign to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage
early detection and treatment of disease among men and women.
“We’re excited to host another Father’s Day 8K on
Sunday,” Race Director Patrick Murphy said.
“The event has really developed into a family-friendly evening in
Georgetown with fathers racing the 8K with their sons and daughters, kids
running the Kid’s Kilometer, and everyone celebrating with a well-deserved
Georgetown Cupcake at the finish.”
Most of the racing team’s members volunteer for the
Father’s Day 8K rather than race. The event is GRC’s chief fundraiser,
ultimately allowing members a modest stipend to travel to professional
competitions and national championships to represent the team and regional
running scene.
All participants will receive a technical race shirt.
Awards will be presented at a post-race happy hour at Chadwick’s to the top
three men and women, the top men and women in each 10-year age group, and to
the top Father-Son and Father-Daughter teams.
Claire Hallissey, a U.K. native who has lived in
Arlington, VA since 2010, will return to defend her title. Hallissey won last
year in 27:14 en route to representing Britain in the London Olympics marathon,
where she finished 57th in a time of 2:35:39. She recently won the Lawyer’s
Have Heart 10K in the District.
Hallissey will be challenged by GRC’s Avril
Ogrodnick, making her Father‘s Day 8K debut. Native to the Canadian
province of Alberta, Ogrodnick was the three-time high school Canadian champion
in the 1500 and placed second in the US National Scholastic Indoor
Championships. She later excelled at Georgetown University, and now works in
the International Health Division at Abt. Associates Inc. Her personal bests
are 2:08.4 for 800, 2:48.23 for 1000, 4:19.24 for 1,500 and 4:48.43 for the
mile.
Ryan Witters, who won last year’s Father’s Day
8K in 25:20, is coming off another solid spring track season during which he
lowered his 5K personal best to 14:31. A 2011 graduate of the University of
Evansville, Witters now works as a consultant for the LitCon Group. His
personal bests include 1:54.3 for 800, 3:53.6 for 1500, and 31:17 for 10K.
I’m looking forward to another great event on Sunday,”
said GRC Racing Team Coach Jerry Alexander. “It’s a low-key but competitive
event in a beautiful setting, and it’s always a fun night for everyone.”
The race will start and finish on the canal towpath in
Georgetown at Potomac and Grace Streets, NW and the turnaround is near
Fletcher’s Boathouse. Water will be available at the midway point.
After the race, participants will be able to enjoy
refreshments from our featured sponsors, cupcakes provided by Georgetown
Cupcakes, and meet with representatives of the Men’s Health Week Campaign. And
after the post-race celebration and awards ceremony, all participants are
invited to a happy hour at Chadwicks (3205 K Street NW, D.C) for beer and
appetizer specials.
• Georgetown Running Company
• National Men’s Health Week
• Georgetown Cupcake
• Chadwick’s
• D.C. Foot and Ankle
• Battley Harley-Davidson
Motorcycles
• Thomas Sweet
To register – and for more
about information – go to www.fathersday8k.com. On race day,
registration will held at the Georgetown Running Company (3401 M Street NW,
D.C.) from 2-4 p.m., and at the start/finish at Potomac and Grace Streets from
5-6:15 p.m.
To enter the father-son and
father-daughter competition, e-mail fathersday8k@gmail.com.
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