As we enter the busy part of the XC season, we award the next batch of D3 Glory Days Runner of the Week Awards. For the first time in this young award, the runners hail from the same college. Week 4 winners are John Lucey and Genna Girard from Williams College. After winning the Little 3 Championship last weekend, John Lucey continued his winning ways in 2023. This time, he crossed the line first at his home invite: Purple Valley. Once a bigger invite, Purple Valley still attracts strong team including last year’s national champs: MIT. Up front, Lucey led his teammates to a 1-2-3 victory which helped pave the way for an early season victory over MIT. Lucey knows where they’re at in the season but gains confidence from this individual and team victories. Lucey was an All-American last year and has goal to improve upon his 18th place finish. Genna Girard officially opened her 2023 season with a commanding victory. With her win by almost a minute, Girard was excited to get back to racing. She suffered an injury during the indoor track season and wasn’t able to race Outdoors. Girard wasn’t sure what to expect in this first race and was aiming to keep it a controlled effort. And she did just that. With her only competition coming from MIT, Girard was able to pull away from them early and never looked back. Girard brings a great perspective on how to handle injuries. In the episode, she goes into how she has grown as a runner as she reflects on her tendencies earlier in college. Girard is excited to be back healthy and running with her teammates. She was an All-American in XC back in 2021 and after missing a top 40 spot last year, she has her eyes set on that recognition again. How to Support D3 Glory Days: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠D3 Glory Days Venmo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We launched a Patreon!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Strava⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠D3 Glory Days Merch --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/d3glorydays/message