GEORGETOWN RUNNING CLUB

Coach Jerry's Recap: GRC at Princeton

While the weather precluded our team debut at the RRCA 10 Miler, the conditions were perfect indoors for individuals at Princeton.  It's a special day when every race goes the way we planned it, and we were 4 for 4 on Sunday.  Dickson ran a humungous 11 second PR of 8:52 in the 3000, and to put into perspective just how big a breakthrough that was, consider that Dickson is a marathoner who is not known for his leg speed, and who has not raced seriously on the track for 10 years.  He decided to take a break from the long stuff on the roads and run a full track season, and to say he's thrown himself into it would be a gross understatement.  Dickson ran with total commitment on Sunday, and he has set himself up to run times outdoors that would have seemed impossible two months ago.  On the women's side, we had an excellent GRC debut from Chelsea, who ran 10:27 for 3000.  This was Chelsea's first track race in 7 years, and her first serious race effort in almost as long, and she executed her race plan perfectly, and finished with a very hard final 200, proving that there's a lot more gas in the tank.  Chelsea is going to be an outstanding addition to our track group, and she will be setting her sights on GRC top 5 times in the 1500, 3000, and 5000 this spring.

The other two races that went according to plan were from Frances, who ran the mile and 3000 as a tuneup for the USATF indoor champs 2 mile on Sunday.  Frances started with a very controlled 4:53 mile, and followed that with an equally controlled 9:41 3000, closing in 33 for the last 200.  What impressed me most about Frances's day was not that she crushed the club record in the 3000 in what was nothing more than a workout for her, but that in both races she enthusiastically agreed to pace Division III athletes looking for NCAA qualifying times, and then spent time with both of the athletes afterwards to give them the benefit of her experience.  Frances's willingness to give back to the sport on a day when she would have been fully justified in worrying only about herself showed me why she's a perfect fit for GRC.  She's going to let it rip on Sunday, so be sure to watch the live broadcast (5:09 pm on NBC Sports Network) of what is sure to be a great performance.