Taking the WORLD by storm!

It is with great pride that I report the following result from Saturday's ITU Duathlon World Championship event from Concord, North Carolina:

Marist Running alum and former team captain Justin (Jut) Harris placed second overall in this event -- second in the WORLD! -- and was just four seconds off first place. What a great job by Jut down there in North Carolina.

The event consisted of a 10km run, a 40km bike, and a 5km run. According to the official race results, Jut's splits were as follows:

10km run: 31:47
40km bike: 54:14 (the fastest in the entire field!)
5km run: 16:16

His overall time of 1:43:34 trailed only World Champion Matthew Sheeks of Washington. According to Jut, Sheeks ran close to 14 minutes (14:04) for 5km on the track while starring at the University of Portland.

Jut still holds the Marist record for the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He has sacrificed a lot in his life to get to this point in his endurance sports career. On so many levels, I am proud of him, and I am proud to call him one of our own here in the land of the Running Red Foxes.

Programming notes: Alumni updates upcoming on Rolek (who continues to tear things up on the roads of the Northeast), Walsh (who has rejuvenated his collegiate running career, which is great to see!), CT (studying hard in medical school and running hard too!) ... and Prinz (wait till you hear THIS one!).

Stay tuned ...