Alumni return to race current athletes

Who says college athletes' careers are over after graduation? This wasn't true for about 25 Ottawa University alumni who came back to compete in the 9th Annual OU Road Race/Alumni Run Sept. 12.

Runners were anxious to get back to competition after a long offseason of intense workouts including Thaddeus Husted.

"It was really great to finally get back out there and compete again," Husted said. "You can train all you want in the offseason but it's not the same as actually competing."

Not only were the runners ready to get back running, but the day couldn't have been better for the race, OU head cross-country coach Kirk Wren said.

"It was a beautiful day. Conditions were perfect for our race," Wren said. "We couldn't have asked for a better day."

Coach Wren also thought the event as a whole went rather smoothly.

"It was a great success; we had around 65 people who participated, as well as 30 alumni."

The race was a 5K, so it was about 3.1 miles. It started at Bo Boucek track, continued around the community of Ottawa, and ended right where it started on the track.

"It was really great to see all of the alumni out here supporting and participating in this event and the turnout was amazing," Wren said.

Current cross-country runners also like to compete with former Braves. It gives them a good race and also allows them to showcase their skills and abilities. Jacob McMillian, sophomore, especially likes this event.

"It's always fun to run against guys who have been coached by the same person, and racing and keeping up with them shows people that I have been working hard and will strive to work harder for the rest of the season."

Some OU alums showed that they still had what it took be a successful runners as they were ahead of many when the race concluded. Justin Garrard, a recent graduate and cross country runner at OU, crossed the finish line first with a time of 15:38.77. The second place spot belonged to current OU assistant cross country coach Brett Rinehart with a time of 16:19.70 and Jacob McMillian was the first of the current Braves to finish in third place finish with a time of 16:36.86.

"For the first meet of the season, I felt like I ran very well. I was 13 seconds off of my personal best so overall it was a good performance."

"Last year Justin Garrard was my running partner so it was fun to run with him once again."