Pair of CGTC Cross Country Runners Compete at Nationals

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – There was a chill in the air at the 2013 National Junior College
Half Marathon National Championships last Saturday in Dallas, Georgia, but both Jarman Brown (1:28:54) and Danny Shaw (1:23:50) ran 13.1 miles in less than an hour and a half!

Are you kidding me? I mean, I guess that means you pretty much sprinted the whole way, right?

“No sir,” says Shaw, a sophomore at CGTC who graduated from Southwest High School two years ago.  He laughs for a second. “You start off at a nice, easy pace.  Do not go too fast. I mean, you’ve got a 13-mile run. It’s not a 100, it’s not a 100 meter dash. It’s not a 40-yard dash it’s not a lap.”

OK, so it’s better to be like a tortoise than a hare in races like these.  Still, the guys admit racing against some of the best runners in the country did make them have to turn it up at least a little bit.

“It was actually like a little bit of a fast pace when we started off,” says Brown, a freshman from Jonesboro. “I pretty much thought it was going to be slow, but the way they were running, it was just like, ‘OK, you’ve got to get with the ballgame, because if you don’t, you’re going to get left.”

Shaw insists it’s difficult to prepare for any race.

“Practice feels normal, but when you’re in the race with other runners, it’s like you get a drive to stay with them even if you can’t.”

It’s an accomplishment in itself that Danny and Jarman both qualified to compete at nationals, but it’s even more awesome when you consider this is CGTC’s first year to have a team.

“It’s been a while since I graduated from Southwest, and it feels good to be the best,” Shaw says.  “It feels good to run for this program and compete, and I’m glad I’m competing again.”

The guys aren’t only fast; they’re smart too!  According to their coach, Leland Ragin, Jarman has a GPA of 3.8, and Danny has a 3.9.  Ragin says they’ve both received scholarship offers to attend four-year colleges next year.

For more information on Central Georgia Tech Athletics, visit centralgatech.edu/titans

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