GRC to race Vets Day 10k and Wilson Bridge Half on Sunday

The Georgetown Running Club will compete in two signature races this weekend – The Wilson Bridge Half Marathon and the Veteran’s Day 10k. 

Kieran O'Connor, Lindsay O'Brien, and Kerry Allen will all be chasing half marathon personal bests at Wilson Bridge. 

"Kieran is ready for a major, major breakthrough," boasted Coach Jerry Alexander. "His PRs are not even close to reflective of his fitness level." 

In fact, Kieran has run numerous PRs in workouts this fall, often more than once in a night--and when the stars align for him on race day, which they have not so far, with the missed start at Navy 5 and the postponement of Wilson Bridge, he has the chance to make a serious statement. 

"Lindsay appears to have put her lingering injuries behind her," said Alexander, "and she's also fit to run a major PR." Alexander added, "Kerry is coming off a big PR at Army, and there's every reason to think she'll keep that train rolling on Sunday." 

Dave Wertz will be guiding Aaron Scheides, the visually impaired superstar who Dickson Mercer guided last year. Ryan Witters is the Visually Impaired Race Coordinator, which is a major position, and will require him to commit pretty much his entire weekend to the race. 

"I'm extremely proud of GRC's continued commitment to the visually impaired athletes who travel from across the country to compete at Wilson Bridge," said Alexander. "The GRC Board and I are always looking for ways the team can give back to the running community, and this is a perfect opportunity for us to do that. The elite visually impaired athletes like Aaron need someone fast enough to guide them, and we've got the athletes to do it, and the willingness to help."

The lineup for the Veteran's Day 10k on flat, fast Hains Point is "Oregon" Paul Baumler, JR Roberts and Tom Kelly, plus Mary Grace Pellegrini and Elyse Shimada. Jake Klim is a "maybe". 

"I'm looking for Paul to make a statement at Vets Day, said Alexander. "Paul is trying to claim one of the uncommitted spots on the GRC A team at Clubs, and a strong performance on Sunday would go a long way for him in that effort." 

Tomorrow, on Saturday, Kevin McNabb and Heather Jellen will toe the line in the "Nearly Naked Mile." 

"Heather is out to defend her title. Her workouts have been strength-oriented, but she's got enough speed in her legs to run a fast mile," said Alexander. "Kevin has been laying low for a couple of weeks with a sore hamstring, but he'll be ready to roll on Saturday." 

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