FLASH: O'CONOR PUNCHES OLYMPIC TRIALS TICKET - UPDATE! 1:04:38!!

Philadelphia, PA - Kieran O'Conor joined Teal Burrell this morning as the second GRC runner to qualify for the 2016 United States Olympic Team Trials in the marathon. At the race formerly known as the Philly Distance Run, Kieran's *unofficial* OFFICIAL half-marathon time of 1:04:38 betters the qualifying standard by 22 seconds. In the process, Kieran also shattered the GRC record in the half.

Many congratulations to Kieran. It is now the duty of all GRC athletes to convince Kieran to join the team for the USATF Club National Cross Country meet in San Francisco in December.

More from Coach Jerry:

Kieran ran 1:04:38 this morning at the Philly RNR half, which qualifies him for the Olympic Trials Marathon!  Congratulations to him for an amazing race, which is a new club record, and arguably the greatest performance in the history of the GRC men's program.  And while his performance was outstanding on an objective level (he ran 4:56 pace for a half!), it was an even more amazing if we consider it in context.  When Kieran joined GRC in the summer of 2013, he had never run 4:56 pace for a 5k, and his 5 mile PR was north of 26 minutes.  Even after a major breakthrough in 2014, his half PR coming in to today was 1:05:58, so he improved by 80 seconds in one race, which is almost unheard of at that level.  Kieran's development in a little more than 2 years has been truly spectacular, and it was based on hard work and a stubborn refusal to accept limitations.  Kieran is just starting to tap into his potential, and he has great things in his future.  A hearty GRC mazel tov to Kieran for a job well done!